The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the cause of death was not due to fault on the part of VA. Therefore, the claims for service connection for the cause of death and dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are denied.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a causal link between the veteran's service-connected avascular necrosis and his fatal myelodysplastic syndrome, nor did the radiation therapy for his nonservice-connected lymphoma cause or contribute substantially to his death. The risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome due to radiation therapy was foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- myelodysplastic syndrome with anemia and thrombocytopenia, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2006
- Citation
- 0621281
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 9% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0621281.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not fully consider the Veteran's reported toxic exposures in service, and thus remanded for appropriate TERA development.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin was dismissed because it was duplicative of a previous appeal.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for skin cancer is remanded due to a lack of an opinion regarding the etiology of his condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and a skin condition (squamous cell carcinoma of the skin) are remanded due to new evidence received, including exposure to herbicide agents during service. VA examinations are required to determine if these conditions are related to service.
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