The Veteran's appeal for increased evaluations of coronary artery disease was dismissed. The Board granted service connection for renal cell cancer, attributing it to herbicide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence supports the Veteran’s claim that his renal cell carcinoma is due to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19182585
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 19182585.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's renal cell cancer, which caused his death in December 2008, likely began during service and is therefore service-connected for the cause of his death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his renal cell cancer is at least as likely as not caused by his exposure to herbicide agents during active service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, renal cell carcinoma, is not service-connected as there is no evidence linking the cancer to his military service.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of March 19, 2007 for the award of service connection for renal cell cancer as due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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