The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's thyroid disorder, which is related to his conceded in-service exposure to herbicides. The preponderance of evidence supports that this condition is due to his in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s thyroid disorder is at least as likely as not due to his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Thyroid disorder, Graves' disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19186736
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · Granted: 19% (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 19186736.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding service connection for Graves' disease and a need for an addendum opinion on the etiology of the condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hyperthyroidism, including Graves' disease and nodular goiter, is remanded due to the need for a TERA examination. The AOJ failed to provide this examination before issuing the rating decision on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA did not properly consider the Veteran's exposure to toxic substances during service, specifically trichlorethylene (TCH), which could be related to his Graves' disease. As a result, the case is being remanded for further action.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of a thyroid disorder in February 2021.
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