The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to malignant melanoma, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by active service and was not otherwise related to service. The claimant did not qualify as a radiation-exposed veteran under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(d)(3) and there was no reasonable possibility that the Veteran's fatal cancer resulted from exposure to ionizing radiation in service.

The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for the cause of death, as the melanoma was not shown to have been incurred or aggravated by active service. The claimant also did not qualify under presumptive provisions for radiation-exposed veterans and there was insufficient evidence to link the cancer to in-service exposure.

Claimed conditions

malignant melanoma

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

May 23, 2019

Citation

19139997

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 19139997.