The veteran's death was caused by his service-connected skin condition, which contributed to the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The Board finds that the evidence is about evenly balanced regarding this connection and grants both the cause-of-death claim and the DEA benefits.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions are divided on whether the service-connected skin condition caused or contributed to the veteran's CLL, but the Board finds the evidence for and against granting service connection for the cause of death is about evenly balanced (i.e., in relative equipoise).
- Claimed conditions
- Allergic dermatitis with probable granulomas, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0639320
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 0639320.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's income was above the maximum annual pension rate, denying survivor's pension.,There is no indication that any of the Veteran's conditions are related to service, thus denying DIC benefits.,VA did not owe the Veteran any periodic monetary benefits at the time of his death, denying accrued benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded both the DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and service connection for the cause of death claims due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the appellant's contentions regarding timely diagnosis and treatment of the Veteran’s UTI, sepsis, and other conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service at U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for a cardiovascular disorder and chronic lymphocytic leukemia were denied as there was no evidence of in-service injury or disease, and the disorders did not manifest within one year of separation from service. The Board found that the medical evidence did not support a nexus between the current conditions and service.
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