The Veteran's bladder cancer is service-connected because it was caused by exposure to diesel fuel and its exhaust during his military service.
The deciding factor: The opinion from the Veteran’s long-time private treating physician established a positive association between the Veteran's bladder cancer and in-service exposure to diesel fuel and its exhaust.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19149991
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 19149991.
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 remanded the claims for bladder cancer, erectile dysfunction, and gouty arthropathy due to outstanding VA treatment records not being obtained. The Veteran's request for a referral to a urologist for ED is also remanded. A VA medical opinion is needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's gouty arthropathy and his service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder and kidney cancer were dismissed as the Notice of Disagreement was not filed within one year of the denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bladder cancer and diabetes mellitus, Type II are remanded due to errors in the VA opinion regarding exposure to herbicides and toxic substances during his military service.
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