The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The appellant's claim is granted as the Veteran's death was due to his service-connected tropical sprue, as well as presumed exposure to herbicide agents and conceded exposure to benzene in service.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by Dr. M.L. established that the Veteran's service-connected tropical sprue contributed to his leukemia, which ultimately caused his death from bronchopneumonia.
- Claimed conditions
- Bronchopneumonia, Acute blastic leukemia, Chronic myelogenous leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2017
- Citation
- 1752612
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 1752612.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC § 1151 due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the newly received military personnel records were not relevant to the outcome and did not affect the decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death (sepsis, blast crisis leukemia, and chronic myelogenous leukemia) was not found to be related to service or exposure to herbicide agents. The claim for survivors' pension benefits was denied due to the Appellant's income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and records. The primary issue is whether the Veteran's death was caused by service-connected conditions or other factors.
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