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 assigned
- None in this 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1439010.
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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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