The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma of the kidney, status post left nephrectomy, was reopened due to new and material evidence. The Board found that his cancer is related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam, granting the claim.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion linked the Veteran’s kidney cancer to his in-service exposure to carcinogenic compounds present in Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell carcinoma of the kidney, metastasized lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19134234
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · 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 19134234.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death and his exposure to ionizing radiation as an X-ray technician.
- Denied
The Board found that the preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's cause of death by metastasized lung cancer was proximately caused by the fault of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center (VAMC) during their care, and thus denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, metastasized lung cancer, is denied as not related to service or service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
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