Service connection for the residuals of a laryngeal wall carcinoma, including vocal chord paralysis, tracheostomy, and oropharyngeal dysphagia, has been granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was presumably exposed to herbicide agent and manifested a respiratory cancer, specifically cancer of the larynx, to a compensable degree.
- Claimed conditions
- laryngeal wall carcinoma, vocal chord paralysis, tracheostomy, oropharyngeal dysphagia
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25003346
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 868 · Granted: 42% (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 A25003346.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed because the veteran filed a higher-level review request and an appeal concurrently, which is not allowed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, including gram negative bacteremia, paraplegia, tracheostomy or intracerebral hemorrhage is related to his service-connected migraine headaches condition. The matter is REMANDED for further action.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including tinnitus, right ankle disability, right elbow necrotic ulcer with scar, pelvic fracture, basilar skull fracture, right medial orbital wall fracture, right ear hearing loss disability, tracheostomy, right pulmonary contusion, grade VI liver laceration, status post-surgical repair, intraperitoneal bladder rupture, status-post surgical repair, splenetic laceration, status post multiple laparotomy repairs, scar secondary to a tracheostomy, scarring from stomach surgery, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury. The decision was based on the finding that these disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service due to willful misconduct.,The Board also denied service connection for a right ankle disability, as it was determined that the Veteran's tinnitus did not have its onset in service and is not otherwise related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's esophageal disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has ordered a remand to obtain updated treatment records and an examination to assess the current severity of his condition.
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