The Board has determined that the Veteran's metastatic melanoma, which was presumed to be caused by his exposure to Agent Orange during active duty, contributed substantially or materially to his death. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
The deciding factor: A positive nexus opinion from a medical expert established that the Veteran's rare type of melanoma may have been related to his exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic melanoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2022
- Citation
- 22047423
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 22047423.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for metastatic melanoma, finding that it is related to in-service sun exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service, including any in-service dental work or ionizing radiation exposure. The Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding the relationship between the Veteran's atherosclerotic cerebrovascular accident and his in-service exposure to herbicide agents. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether this condition qualifies as ischemic heart disease for purposes of presumptive service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was attributed to metastatic melanoma, which the Board finds meets the first requirement of service connection. However, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, the Board must now obtain medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of both conditions.
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