The Board denied service connection for hypopharynx cancer, finding that the condition did not manifest within one year of discharge and was not related to service or exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was based on an inaccurate factual premise regarding the presumptive association between the Veteran’s cancer and exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- hypopharynx cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20065944
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · 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 20065944.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypopharynx cancer and obstructive sleep apnea to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to his hypopharynx cancer, which was found to be related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents such as Agent Orange. The Board also established direct service connection for the hypopharynx cancer.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, pneumonia and hypopharynx cancer, was not caused by or related to his military service. The Board found no evidence linking the fatal diseases to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in the January 2020 decision and the need for an advisory opinion from an independent medical expert. The Veteran's claim of service connection for hypopharynx cancer is being reviewed again.
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