The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of squamous cell carcinoma with osteoradionecrosis of the jaw, finding that the evidence did not reach equipoise in support of the claim and concluding that it is less likely than not related to military service, including exposure to herbicide agents, lead, and asbestos.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no at-least-as-likely-as-not causative link between squamous cell carcinoma and asbestos, lead, and Agent Orange when each substance is looked at individually. The only relatively recent exposure with known risk would be alcohol use.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma, osteoradionecrosis of the jaw
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2021
- Citation
- 21001436
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 21001436.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma is granted as secondary to his service-connected eczema and psoriasis. The initial compensable evaluation for toenail psoriasis remains denied.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to squamous cell carcinoma, finding that there is no evidence linking it to herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam.
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