The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for chloracne related to herbicide exposure and service connection for throat cancer. The Veteran was not granted a retroactive award due to lack of one year prior to enactment of the relevant law, and his claim for throat cancer is pending.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the earliest possible effective date for service connection allowed by law in this case is June 12, 2012, which is when the Veteran filed his application for service connection. The earlier effective date claim was denied as it did not meet the criteria under the Nehmer regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- throat cancer, chloracne
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801211
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 1801211.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's request for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in an April 2025 rating decision, as the decision was not a result of a valid appeal and did not award any past-due benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's spouse is seeking to be substituted as the appellant for claims of service connection filed by the Veteran in August 2017. The AOJ has not yet determined whether she meets the requirements to substitute, and this issue must be remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for lung cancer is denied. The claim for throat cancer is granted, and the Veteran is awarded a TDIU rating prior to August 10, 2022.
- Granted
The Veteran's chloracne is presumed to be caused by his exposure to herbicide agents during service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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