The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence linking his lung cancer and other contributing causes to active duty or exposure at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners opined that there was no relationship between the Veteran's claimed conditions and his military service, including any exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory failure due to atypical pneumonia and non-small cell lung cancer, Pulmonary fibrosis, Atrial fibrillation, Giant cell tumor of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25022212
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for congestive heart failure with implanted pacemaker, bradycardia, valvular heart disease, and atrial fibrillation, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death due to a lack of adequate medical evidence regarding the potential nexus between atrial fibrillation and in-service exposure, as well as other service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder, obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, atrial fibrillation as secondary to hypertension, and congestive heart failure with cardiomyopathy and ventricular hypertrophy as secondary to hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a recurrent sleep disability to include obstructive sleep apnea, and ratings for atrial fibrillation and a right groin scar due to unverified periods of active duty with the Florida Air National Guard.
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