The Board granted service connection for brain tumors, recurrent tumors of the right ear, a lung tumor, melanoma of the left cheek, nose, and right ear, a bilateral eye condition with facial nerve pain, and residuals of gold weight in the right eyelid, all to include as due to in-service exposure to biological and chemical agents used in Project SHAD.
The deciding factor: The Board resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, finding that the evidence was in approximate balance for each condition being etiologically related to his service with Project SHAD.
- Claimed conditions
- Brain tumors, Recurrent tumors of the right ear, Lung tumor, Melanoma of the left cheek, nose, and right ear, Bilateral eye condition with facial nerve pain (secondary to brain tumors and recurrent tumors of the right ear), Residuals of gold weight in the right eyelid (secondary to brain tumors and recurrent tumors of the right ear)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2025
- Citation
- 25013935
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 25013935.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for brain tumors, including as secondary to right ear otosclerosis with hearing loss due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service or service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for brain tumor and lung tumor are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's brain tumors are found to be caused by an event not reasonably foreseeable, and he is granted compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for his brain tumors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered additional development to obtain records related to the Veteran's forehead tumor, which may be relevant to his cause of death claim. The case will be remanded for further action.
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