The Board has granted the reopening of service connection for basal cell carcinoma and has determined that there is a nexus between the Veteran's exposure to radiation and Agent Orange during his military service and his development of basal cell carcinoma. The claim is therefore granted.
The deciding factor: Three separate medical providers have suggested a link between the in-service exposure (radiation and Agent Orange) and the subsequent basal cell carcinoma diagnosis, which has been linked to the Veteran's service by resolving doubt in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- basal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19190511
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19190511.
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 decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's basal cell carcinoma. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which he claims was caused by exposure to water-based contaminants at Camp Lejeune during his military service.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis as the appeal is considered duplicative of a previous decision.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connection for neoplasm hard and soft tissue of the mouth was improper, as there is conflicting medical evidence regarding the cause of the condition. The Veteran's conditions are related to his active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's lung cancer and brain tumor are granted service connection, while his basal cell carcinoma (claimed as multiple myeloma) is denied. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure in Guam or elsewhere during active duty.
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