The Veteran's non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not service connected as it did not begin during his active duty or within one year of discharge. The exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune occurred after he left the military, and therefore does not qualify for service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's active duty service did not include service at Camp Lejeune, where the contaminated water exposure occurred.
- Claimed conditions
- non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19165212
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,421 · Granted: 31% (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 19165212.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of various conditions has been dismissed without prejudice due to their death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran passed away during the appeal process, so their claim for non-Hodgkin lymphoma service connection is dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as there is no competent or credible evidence to show that the condition is attributable to active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has removed the character of discharge as a bar to VA compensation benefits, and thus grants the appeal. The claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is referred back to the RO for further consideration.
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