The Veteran's occupational exposures to carcinogenic compounds during service are found to have caused or contributed to his fatal ocular melanoma, thus granting service connection for the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: A Board Certified radiation oncologist opined that it is more likely than not that the Veteran's in-service exposure to carcinogenic compounds caused or contributed to his rare and fatal ocular melanoma.
- Claimed conditions
- ocular melanoma
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2014
- Citation
- 1430970
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 1430970.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an eye disability, finding that the Veteran's conditions are not related to his in-service incident and that there is no evidence of a nexus between any current eye condition and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found the claim of service connection for an eye disability is remanded due to inadequate medical opinion and need for additional evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic malignant melanoma, is found to be etiologically related to service-connected Agent Orange exposure and in-service UV light exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his ocular melanoma was not related to service or Agent Orange exposure. The Board also found no evidence of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune contributing to his death.
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