The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his death was not related to any incident of service or exposure to herbicides. The claim for reopening a claim based on ionizing radiation exposure is also denied due to lack of new and material evidence.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a connection between the veteran's melanoma and his military service, including exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2005
- Citation
- 0508695
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0508695.
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: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent evaluation for residuals of malignant melanoma with BCC and SCC was granted. However, the claims for compensable ratings for scars associated with these conditions were denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the current diagnosis and active service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma is granted service connection, with the claim being considered presumptive due to exposure to burn pits during his deployment in Iraq.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for malignant melanoma, lung cancer, kidney disability, hypertension, and TDIU.
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