The Board is remanding the case to clarify whether the appellant is the veteran's lawful surviving spouse and, if so, to determine service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The preliminary issue will be addressed first.
The deciding factor: The preliminary determination of the appellant's status as the veteran's lawful surviving spouse must be made before addressing the underlying claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0640111
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 0640111.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus type II, and Parkinson's disease based on presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and a skin disorder due to an improper concurrent election. The effective dates for the lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathies, and TDIU were denied as they did not meet the criteria for earlier effective dates.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for restoration of a compensable evaluation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and service connection for chronic kidney disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is presumed to be a result of herbicide exposure during the Veteran's military service.
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