The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's skin disorder to his active service and denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner stated that it would be purely speculation to find a direct causal relationship between the veteran's military service and his current condition, as sun exposure linked to melanoma is often in short, intense bursts occurring during childhood.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent melanoma of the right shoulder, various areas of actinic keratosis, non-melanoma skin cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2010
- Citation
- 1002811
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 1002811.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's non-melanoma skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, is related to service and granted service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's skin lesions, including melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, are related to service or to his service-connected disabilities. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's non-melanoma skin cancer and vitiligo are related to his exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for non-melanoma skin cancer, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
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