The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected condition, and the appellant did not meet the requirements for DIC benefits or survivorship benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from acute myelomonocytic leukemia, which is not a disease associated with exposure to herbicide agents or radiation during service. The Veteran was never continuously rated at 100% disabled for ten years prior to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myelomonocytic leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107767
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19107767.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was etiologically related to service, specifically his in-service exposure to dioxin-based chemical herbicides (TCDD). As a result, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and a VA opinion on whether the Veteran's in-service exposure to benzene caused his terminal leukemia.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's acute myelomonocytic leukemia was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred therein. The evidence did not support a finding of radiation exposure during service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to acute myelomonocytic leukemia and meningeal carcinomatosis, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to military service.
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