The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as the claimed conditions are not causally or etiologically related to his period of active military service, including exposure to environmental hazards in the Persian Gulf War.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disabilities and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), Skin Cancer, Chronic or Recurrent Pneumonia, Enlarged Lymph Nodes, Enlarged Spleen
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2013
- Citation
- 1307452
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 1307452.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's ESRD is denied as not related to service, including herbicide agent exposure. The skin cancer of the right ear remains under remand for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's CLL is presumed to be related to his service in Thailand due to exposure to herbicide agents, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable disability rating for CLL and a TDIU is being remanded due to concerns about the adequacy of the December 2023 VA examination and because the RO has not provided explicit notice on the TDIU issue.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic lymphocytic leukemia is presumed to be related to his military service due to exposure to herbicide agents, specifically Agent Orange. The claim for service connection is granted.
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