The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for melanoma, finding that there is no positive association between exposure to herbicide agents and any disease or injury claimed by the Veteran. The Board also found that the Veteran's current diagnosis of malignant melanoma was not related to in-service exposure to sun.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion indicated that the Veteran's skin cancer was less likely than not (less than 50 percent probability) incurred in or caused by Agent Orange exposure, and less likely than not (less than 50 percent probability) due to chronic sun exposure during service. The most probative evidence of record indicates that it is less likely than not that the Veteran's skin cancer is due to his in-service exposure herbicide agents, including Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19172935
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 19172935.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for melanoma, to include SCC of the right hand, finding that it is at least as likely as not caused by exposure to radiation during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, equilibrium disorder (claimed as bad balance and equilibrium), bilateral restless leg syndrome, bilateral upper extremity tremor, melanoma, and acquired psychiatric disability due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and Agent Orange in Japan.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, and melanoma. The Veteran's claims were based on exposure to herbicides at Fort McClellan, but the evidence did not establish actual exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's lung cancer and metastatic malignant melanoma were not shown to be related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents or ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
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