The Board has vacated its previous decision denying service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, secondary to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange due to a failure to consider certain regulations. The claim is denied as there was no in-country service and thus no presumption of exposure to Agent Orange applies. There is also insufficient evidence to establish that the Veteran's current condition is related to his active service or to exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran did not have in-country service, which precludes presumptive service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma due to exposure to Agent Orange. There was also insufficient evidence to establish a direct relationship between the Veteran's current condition and his active service or exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0914772
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 0914772.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that his conditions were not related to his military service and did not warrant a grant based on exposure to herbicides.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are granted service connection as they were presumed to be related to herbicide agent exposure during his military service in Thailand.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's hypertension was not rated higher than noncompensable (0%) due to insufficient evidence of diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more, or systolic pressure predominantly 160 or more.,The Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma did not cause any current symptoms or functional impairment, such as visual impairment, and therefore was not rated higher than noncompensable (0%).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is related to his toxic exposures at Fort Ord during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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