The Board denied a compensable rating for papillary thyroid carcinoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but granted service connection for vocal cord paralysis and odynophagia as additional residual disabilities due to the service-connected nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding of recurrence or metastasis of either condition, nor was there any indication that the Veteran's thyroid cancer or nasopharyngeal cancer had caused additional disability beyond what was already service connected.
- Claimed conditions
- papillary thyroid carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, vocal cord paralysis, odynophagia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25044878
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 766 · Granted: 40% (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 A25044878.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for papillary thyroid carcinoma is denied. The case is being remanded due to a procedural error in notifying the Veteran of his right to a hearing on a supplemental claim.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death due to recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to exposure to herbicides in service, including Agent Orange.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for adult-onset Still's disease, vocal cord paralysis, scars, anterior neck, left knee arthritis, and right knee arthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran is presumed to have had these conditions during his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left knee disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the left knee. The claim for papillary thyroid carcinoma was remanded for further development.
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