The Board denied the claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, as the Veteran was not rated continuously totally disabled for at least ten years immediately preceding his death.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the fact that the Veteran's total disability rating did not meet the required duration to qualify for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- sarcoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25035460
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 857 · Granted: 35% (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 A25035460.
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.
- Denied
The Board found that new and relevant evidence had not been received to support the veteran's claims for service connection for melanoma, sarcoma, basal cell carcinoma, COPD, and sinusitis.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension was granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam under the PACT Act. The claim for sarcoma was remanded for further evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of consideration of the claim for service connection for sarcoma, which was denied in August 2018. The cause of death is being considered based on exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that additional development is needed due to the PACT Act, which requires a VA examination and medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cancer was related to his exposure to toxic chemicals during service. The case is remanded for this purpose.
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