The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1151 for malignant melanoma was denied because the effective date cannot be earlier than December 30, 2014 due to the one-year rule.
The deciding factor: The claim was filed more than one year after the VA treatment that caused the injury, and therefore an earlier effective date cannot be assigned based on this.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2018
- Citation
- 18132661
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 18132661.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent evaluation for residuals of malignant melanoma with BCC and SCC was granted. However, the claims for compensable ratings for scars associated with these conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the current diagnosis and active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma is granted service connection, with the claim being considered presumptive due to exposure to burn pits during his deployment in Iraq.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for malignant melanoma, lung cancer, kidney disability, hypertension, and TDIU.
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