The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia are etiologically related to his service-connected hepatitis C, and thus grants service connection for these conditions as secondary to hepatitis C.
The deciding factor: The positive opinion from the Veteran's treating physician was found to be more probative than the negative opinions from VA physicians due to the latter not having the benefit of personally examining the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2017
- Citation
- 1707942
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 1707942.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's service-connected hypertension contributed to his cause of death, and therefore grants service connection for the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for blood cancer, leukemia, eye disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome, and thrombocytopenia due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service. The case is remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's hypertension and coronary artery disease, which may have contributed to his cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's red cell aplasia and myelodysplastic syndrome were not found to be related to service, specifically exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Board determined that the presumptive service connection for contaminated water exposure did not apply due to insufficient time spent at Camp Lejeune.
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