The Veteran's skin cancer was not incurred in service and is denied as the evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection. The claim for service connection is also denied due to lack of probative value of lay statements regarding causation.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection, and the lay statements are considered insufficient to establish etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- Skin cancer, Non-melanoma skin cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19141323
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 19141323.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus type II, both presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides during ACDUTRA at Fort McClellan. The claims for benign prostatic hyperplasia, headaches, and skin cancer were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for residuals of a skin condition, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for Non Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy with macular edema secondary to diabetes mellitus and denied the claims for a right shoulder condition, right upper extremity neuropathy, and skin cancer.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for heart condition, hypertension, prostate cancer, and skin cancer due to in-service herbicide exposure but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and obstructive sleep apnea.
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