The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder, including actinic keratosis, solar elastosis, stucco keratosis, seborrheic keratosis, and dermatitis on a presumptive basis due to in-service exposure to herbicides. The Board found that there was no evidence of chronic skin disorders during or after service, and the Veteran's current skin conditions were not related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that without mere speculation to occurrences of the skin since his military service, the Veteran’s diagnosed dermatitis was less likely than not due to service including Agent Orange exposure while serving in Vietnam/waters near/surrounding Vietnam. There were also no private or VA medical records over the 50 years since the Veteran's military service ended to support a chronic skin condition.
- Claimed conditions
- actinic keratosis, solar elastosis, stucco keratosis, seborrheic keratosis, dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20076158
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 20076158.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a left wrist condition was dismissed due to concurrent election of higher-level review. The claims for an initial compensable rating for bilateral pes planus, and for service connection for hearing loss, neck strain, and dermatitis were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis, GERD, and Barrett's esophagus due to insufficient evidence regarding their relationship to in-service sun exposure or service-connected hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for left toe pain and loss of range of motion, finding that the Veteran's condition was a normal post-surgical outcome. The claims for service connection for dermatitis and HSV were remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
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