The Board has determined that a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's fatal myelodysplastic syndrome was etiologically related to in-service exposure to Agent Orange. The appeal will be remanded for this purpose.
The deciding factor: The claim requires an evaluation of whether the Veteran’s fatal myelodysplastic syndrome was directly related to his service, including presumed exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- myelodysplastic syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19106917
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 myelodysplastic syndrome, finding that the Veteran had presumptive exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's significant conditions at the time of his death were related to his service, including any toxic exposure risk activities (TERA), and if so, whether they had a material influence on the acceleration of his death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and initial rating were dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review options.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected painful left knee scar, effective October 26, 2022, and remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for myelodysplastic syndrome.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.