The Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer was neither incurred in active service nor related to an incident therein and may not be presumed to have been.,The Veteran does not currently have any intestinal problems.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence did not establish a nexus between the Veteran’s exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and his current oropharyngeal cancer or intestinal problems.
- Claimed conditions
- Oropharyngeal cancer, Intestinal problems
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19132213
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,515 · Granted: 20% (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 19132213.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
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- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and he did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional development regarding the cause of death and service connection claims. The Veteran's COPD and oropharyngeal cancer are not presumed diseases related to herbicide agent exposure, but may still be service-connected on a direct basis. The claim will be reviewed after obtaining updated medical records and opinions from an expert.
- Granted
The Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer is considered a respiratory cancer associated with herbicide exposure, and service connection for this condition on a presumptive basis is granted. The kidney disorder claim remains pending as the VA has not provided an opinion regarding its etiology.
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