The Board granted an earlier effective date of November 3, 2015 for the award of DIC benefits due to a burial application submitted by the Appellant in February 2016. The cause of death was identified as colon cancer and liver cancer, with exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune being presumed.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the February 2016 burial benefits application constituted an informal claim for DIC benefits due to the Appellant's belief in her husband's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, which led to a finding of effective date November 3, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- Colon cancer, Liver cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2024
- Citation
- A24066239
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 910 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A24066239.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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