The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for skin cancer, including malignant melanoma and residuals of surgical removal, due to herbicide agent exposure (Agent Orange) or Camp Lejeune contaminated water exposure. The Board found that there was no causal link between the Veteran's skin cancer and his in-service sun exposure, herbicide exposure, or contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided unfavorable nexus opinions based on a lack of medical literature supporting a causal link between the Veteran's skin cancer and his in-service exposures to sunlight, herbicide agents, or contaminated water from Camp Lejeune. The examiners also cited multiple studies indicating that firefighting was more likely related to the Veteran's melanoma.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant melanoma, Residuals of surgical removal for malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23012278
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 23012278.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent evaluation for residuals of malignant melanoma with BCC and SCC was granted. However, the claims for compensable ratings for scars associated with these conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the current diagnosis and active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma is granted service connection, with the claim being considered presumptive due to exposure to burn pits during his deployment in Iraq.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for malignant melanoma, lung cancer, kidney disability, hypertension, and TDIU.
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