The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, as there was no evidence that the Veteran's lung cancer was related to his military service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the preponderance of the probative and persuasive evidence is against a finding that the Veteran's cause of death is related to service, to include as due to in-service exposure to an herbicide agent. The Veteran was not entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability rated by VA as 100 percent disabling for at least 10 years immediately preceding his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Metastatic lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25032582
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25032582.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not due to a service-connected disability, and the Board found that his lung cancer was unrelated to any asbestos exposure in service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not due to service-connected conditions, and denied DIC benefits.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to metastatic lung cancer, finding no evidence linking it to his active duty service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the reopening of the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and has determined that the Veteran's PTSD contributed to his smoking, which in turn caused his acute respiratory failure, pneumonia, metastatic lung cancer, and diabetes mellitus. The Board found that these conditions were related to his service-connected PTSD.
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