The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis due to exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, finding that it was as likely as not caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence supported a conclusion that the Veteran's prostate cancer was directly related to his exposure to contaminated water during his service at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis, prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19132755
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19132755.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis disability rating is being remanded for additional development due to significant weight loss and anemia.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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