The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death, malignant melanoma, is attributable to his military service exposure to Agent Orange. The appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: Competent medical evidence supports a link between the Veteran's in-service exposure to Agent Orange and the development of malignant melanoma, which was the immediate cause of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant Melanoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2013
- Citation
- 1307103
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 1307103.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma is granted service connection due to presumed exposure to herbicides during his active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma and related conditions have been granted increased ratings, effective dates for earlier effective dates, and SMC housebound status from January 18, 2024, to August 31, 2024.,Service connection has also been established for a right eye condition as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected malignant melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches as secondary to tinnitus and denied a compensable rating for a scar associated with malignant melanoma, an increased rating for tinnitus, and remanded claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, and TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion on whether the Veteran's melanoma is related to herbicide agent exposure.
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