The Veteran's Merkel cell carcinoma is found to be at least as likely as not related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, and service connection for this condition is granted.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions support a link between the Veteran's exposure to contaminants in the Camp Lejeune water supply and his development of Merkel cell carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- Merkel cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19177033
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (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 19177033.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's Merkel cell carcinoma is granted service connection due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma, finding that it was caused by herbicide agent exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma, left knee disability, and neck disability to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma based on the Veteran's presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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