The Board found that the Veteran's thyroid cancer was not incurred in service and may not be presumed to have been incurred therein due to herbicide exposure. As a result, secondary service connection for his other claimed disabilities is also denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established as there is no evidence of record showing that the Veteran had thyroid cancer during or within one year after service, and the Secretary has determined there is no positive association between herbicide exposure and thyroid cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- papillary thyroid carcinoma, loss of use of the right arm, loss of shoulder nerves, cancer of the lymph nodes
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 2, 2014
- Citation
- 1439010
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1439010.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for papillary thyroid carcinoma is denied. The case is being remanded due to a procedural error in notifying the Veteran of his right to a hearing on a supplemental claim.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further proceedings due to errors in notice and a need to provide the Veteran with information about his right to a hearing.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left knee disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the left knee. The claim for papillary thyroid carcinoma was remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cancer of the lymph nodes to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
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