The Board denied service connection for a heart disorder, prostate cancer, and skin cancer, all of which were claimed to be due to herbicide exposure.,The evidence did not support the Veteran's claims as there was no in-service diagnosis or treatment related to these conditions.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing a nexus between the current disabilities and service. The Veteran’s service records do not show any complaints, diagnoses, or treatments for heart disorder, prostate cancer, or skin cancer during service. Additionally, his post-service treatment records are silent on these conditions until many years after service.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart Disorder, Prostate Cancer, Skin Cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19135397
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 19135397.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension and prostate cancer residuals (voiding dysfunction) have been granted increased ratings of 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted SMC at the rate of 50% for his service-connected conditions from April 20, 2020 to June 7, 2021.
- Denied
The Veteran's ESRD is denied as not related to service, including herbicide agent exposure. The skin cancer of the right ear remains under remand for further evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Disorder due to a duty to assist error in obtaining opinions regarding whether these conditions are aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.