The Board found that squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil was not incurred in or aggravated by service and is not shown to be related to any event therein, including hazardous environmental exposures. The claim for service connection has been denied.
The deciding factor: The expert opinion indicated that the Veteran's cancer was less likely than not (less than 50 percent probability) caused by his military service exposure to burn pits in Iraq.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2013
- Citation
- 1311249
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 1311249.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a new VA medical opinion addressing all of the Veteran's claimed in-service toxic exposures, including herbicide agents, asbestos, concrete dust, burning waste, asphalt, and related chemicals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the case to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claim for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil due to toxic exposure in service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as there was no prior claim filed before October 14, 2019.,New evidence has been received to support the service connection claims for squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil and adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells. These claims are now granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic fatigue as secondary to squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil is denied. The Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
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