The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected leukemia, which he developed due to herbicide exposure during his time in Vietnam. The Board granted the appellant's claims for service connection for cancer (including leukemia) and for the cause of her husband's death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence established that the Veteran's leukemia was a result of his exposure to herbicides during active duty service, which contributed substantially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- cancer, precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphoblastic lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2010
- Citation
- 1020625
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 1020625.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that his conditions were not related to his military service and did not warrant a grant based on exposure to herbicides.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are granted service connection as they were presumed to be related to herbicide agent exposure during his military service in Thailand.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension was not rated higher than noncompensable (0%) due to insufficient evidence of diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more, or systolic pressure predominantly 160 or more.,The Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma did not cause any current symptoms or functional impairment, such as visual impairment, and therefore was not rated higher than noncompensable (0%).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's need for aid and attendance or housebound status, including conflicting information about his gait issues. The case will be returned for further examination and consideration.
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