The Board has granted service connection for a non-malignant thyroid nodule, finding that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the condition is related to the Veteran's exposure to ionizing radiation during military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the opinions from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the VA endocrinologist to be in equipoise, concluding that the non-malignant thyroid nodule could be attributed to the Veteran's prior military service due to his known risk of antithyroperoxidase antibodies/Hashimoto’s thyroiditis/primary hypothyroidism related to radiation exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- non-malignant thyroid nodule
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- A19003358
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19003358.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a non-malignant thyroid nodule has been withdrawn.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted as his PTSD is now considered service-connected.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a left leg disability is reopened, and the appeal is granted.
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