The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates prior to March 14, 2017, for service connection of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), secondary loss of all teeth, and secondary loss of lower anterior ridge of mandible have been denied. The effective date has not been assigned as the evidence did not support direct service connection at the time of the August 2017 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show a nexus between the Veteran's current disabilities and his in-service exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, which was required for direct service connection. The effective date has been assigned based on the liberalizing regulation that took effect on March 14, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Loss of all teeth, Loss of lower anterior ridge of mandible
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2024
- Citation
- 24034857
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 24034857.
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 service connection for leukemia, characterized as CLL, was improperly severed. Service connection for T-cell LGL leukemia is restored. The severance of service connection for NHL is upheld.
- Granted
The Board has restored a 100 percent rating for the Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, effective April 1, 2025.
- Granted
The Veteran's SMC was granted at the intermediate level between 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) and (n) due to additional disabilities including peripheral neuropathies, tinnitus, hearing loss, and lymphoma.
- Granted
The Veteran's non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma was granted a 100% rating effective February 8, 2019.
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