The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's residuals of thyroid cancer, status post thyroidectomy, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to his presumed herbicide exposure during active duty.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma with bilateral cervical metastasis was most likely related to extensive Agent Orange exposure based on the absence of a familial history and no history of radiation exposure, resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of thyroid cancer, status post thyroidectomy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19139123
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,913 · Granted: 30% (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 19139123.
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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's thyroid cancer is not related to his active service, including exposure to ionizing radiation. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and reviewing the claims file to determine if there is evidence that supports or contradicts the Veteran's claim of service connection for residuals of thyroid cancer due to ionizing radiation in service.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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