The Veteran's cause of death (acute myeloid leukemia and pneumonia) was not related to his military service, including presumed exposure to herbicides. There is no competent medical evidence that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities were either the principal or a contributory cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence establishing a direct relationship between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2016
- Citation
- 1617812
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 1617812.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service personnel records, which may affect the Veteran's cause of death claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for acute myeloid leukemia is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ needs to obtain an updated medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's AML, including its relationship to in-service herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death. The evidence showed well-controlled heart symptoms prior to death and no causal relationship between anxiety and cardiopulmonary disease or renal failure.
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