The Board has granted service connection for lip carcinoma and its related disabilities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, squamous cell of the neck, hypothyroidism, sinus bradycardia, aneurysm, and squamous cell carcinoma of the jaw, all linked to Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of medical evidence supports a link between the veteran's lip carcinoma and Agent Orange exposure, which is presumed for veterans who served in Vietnam during the specified period.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, squamous cell of the neck, hypothyroidism, squamous cell carcinoma of the lip, sinus bradycardia, residuals of an aneurysm, squamous cell carcinoma of the jaw
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0628895
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · Granted: 17% (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 0628895.
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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The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for hypothyroidism is denied, and the Board finds that service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease and bilateral foot condition should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypothyroidism and therefore denied their claim for service connection.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus was dismissed. The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis with complications, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, vitamin deficiencies, memory/cognitive impairment, unexplained arthralgias, fatigue, hair loss, and bradycardia.
- Granted
The appellant is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits, effective September 1, 2020.
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