The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death due to acute leukemia, which was not related to his military service. The DIC claim under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 was also denied as the veteran did not meet the requirements for total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to his death.
The deciding factor: The cause of death (acute leukemia) occurred many years after the veteran's service and is not related to any service-connected condition or exposure. The veteran did not have a continuous total disability rating due to service-connected conditions for at least ten years prior to his death, as required by law for DIC benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute leukemia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0403772
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 673 · Granted: 27% (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 0403772.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 to remand the case due to a lack of VA examination and medical nexus opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service and his death, specifically acute leukemia. The claim will be reviewed with an appropriate VA examiner.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, acute leukemia, is granted as service-connected due to the approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of the issue. The Board concludes that there is no known nexus between Agent Orange exposure and the development of AML.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death and dismissed the appeal regarding SMC based on the need for aid and attendance for the surviving spouse.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, acute leukemia, was not service-connected as it did not manifest in service or for many years thereafter and is not related to service.
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