The veteran's death was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest with underlying causes of acute tubular necrosis and leukemia. The VA physician concluded that the leukemia, which contributed to his death, was a result of exposure to benzene during service.
The deciding factor: The VA physician opined that it was at least as likely as not that the veteran's fatal leukemia developed due to his exposure to benzene during military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute tubular necrosis, Leukemia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2003
- Citation
- 0306053
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (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 0306053.
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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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in duty to assist and needs additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's leukemia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to obtain a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death was related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and whether it is at least as likely as not that the causes were proximately due or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for leukemia, finding that his exposure to radiation during Operation Sandstone qualifies him as a presumptive radiation-exposed veteran and thus meeting the criteria for service connection.
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