The Veteran's service connection for skin melanoma residuals (scar from melanoma excision) is granted on a direct basis, effective from the date of his initial claim in April 2018. The PACT Act does not apply to this case.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner linked the disability directly to herbicide agent exposure and established that the Veteran had an in-service injury (herbicide agent exposure) and a current disability (scar, left jawline status post skin melanoma).
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of skin melanoma (rated as scar, left jawline, status post skin melanoma)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2025
- Citation
- 25000937
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25000937.
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.
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- Denied
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- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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