Every once in a while the BVA gets it right.While Vets cannot use these decisions for precedence, they are valuable road maps for deciding the best way to present a claim. This decision by a VLJ is an example of good nexuses and someone who did their homework. Agent Orange has been proven to cause many illnesses, but Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has eluded Vets for a long time. This decision repudiates that long denial. 38 CFR § 3.307 and 3.309 have long denied Vets any standing on Agent Orange claims unless the disease was specifically listed in 3.309. This decision has finally allowed the camel’s nose under the tent. I suspect that more diseases will eventually be tied to AO, but we Vietnam Vets will all be long gone by then…

http://www.va.gov/vetapp09/Files2/0919854.txt