The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer was reopened and granted. His hiatal hernia with GERD and IBS received a 30 percent disability rating from December 19, 2006 to April 17, 2016.
The deciding factor: A private medical opinion provided a causal relationship between the Veteran's alleged chemical exposure at Camp Lejeune and his prostate cancer. The VA examiner previously found no such link but was contradicted by Dr. J.W., who opined that the Veteran’s prostate cancer is likely caused by exposure to TCE, PCE, and vinyl chloride.
- Claimed conditions
- Hiatal Hernia with GERD and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Prostate Cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- August 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19163681
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 284 · Granted: 35% (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 19163681.
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
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- Granted
The Veteran's urinary sphincter dysfunction is restored to a 40 percent rating effective February 1, 2025. A higher rating for the condition beginning July 12, 2023, is denied.
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