The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, was not due to his military service or any disability related to his military service. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's NHL was due to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from NHL in December 1999 and at the time of death he was not service connected for any disability. The Board found no probative value in the private medical opinion based on inaccurate facts regarding Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2015
- Citation
- 1518417
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1518417.
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: Granted
The Veteran's service connection for leukemia, characterized as CLL, was improperly severed. Service connection for T-cell LGL leukemia is restored. The severance of service connection for NHL is upheld.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has restored a 100 percent rating for the Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, effective April 1, 2025.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's SMC was granted at the intermediate level between 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) and (n) due to additional disabilities including peripheral neuropathies, tinnitus, hearing loss, and lymphoma.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma was granted a 100% rating effective February 8, 2019.
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