The Board denied entitlement to service connection for neutropenia and thyroid cancer, claimed as due to ionizing radiation exposure, for accrued benefits purposes, on the basis that the claim lacked legal merit; and also found no evidence of a disability related to the Veteran's active military service or a service-connected disability that caused his death.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the competent medical evidence is against a finding that the cause of the Veteran's death was related to his active military service, or to a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Neutropenia, Thyroid Cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2009
- Citation
- 0905693
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0905693.
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 Board granted service connection for thyroid cancer, finding that the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his military service is related to his condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's thyroid cancer was granted a 100% rating effective December 28, 2021. The claim for increased thyroid cancer ratings is granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded both the service connection claims for thyroid cancer residuals and hypothyroidism due to potential exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam, as well as contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The Veteran will need a TERA-specific examination to assess his total exposure through all deployments.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Prostate Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, and Parkinson's Disease based on new and relevant evidence of exposure to toxic chemicals during active service.
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