The Veteran's residuals of kidney cancer and painful scars are granted as service connected, with the Board finding that reasonable doubt should be resolved in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's exposure to trichloroethylene during his military service caused his kidney cancer and resulting scars, thus granting service connection based on the benefit of the doubt rule.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of kidney cancer, painful scars
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19123539
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 19123539.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to the Board making a decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for compartment syndrome of the bilateral lower extremities, reduced the rating for painful scars of the bilateral lower extremities, and denied service connection for various conditions. The decision was not timely filed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for kidney cancer and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded due to the need for additional examinations and medical opinions.
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