The Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and autoimmune hemolytic anemia are remanded due to inadequate VA opinions and the need for additional development, including obtaining inpatient or outpatient clinical records from his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the May 2015 VA opinion was inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's contention of parasitic illnesses related to contaminated water during service. The August 2016 private opinion is also deemed insufficient due to its speculative nature.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19103521
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus type II, and Parkinson's disease based on presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and a skin disorder due to an improper concurrent election. The effective dates for the lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathies, and TDIU were denied as they did not meet the criteria for earlier effective dates.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for restoration of a compensable evaluation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and service connection for chronic kidney disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is presumed to be a result of herbicide exposure during the Veteran's military service.
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