The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's myelodysplastic syndrome was related to his in-service radiation exposure, and therefore grants service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a strong opinion linking the Veteran’s myelodysplastic syndrome to his in-service radiation exposure, while the VA health physicist offered an opinion that contradicted this conclusion but did not address all relevant medical history or articles submitted by the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19108159
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19108159.
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 Veteran's case is being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error and the inextricability of his TDIU claim with his MDS residuals.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, as there was no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's death was related to his active service or any in-service injury or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied the appellant's claim for entitlement to nonservice-connected (NSC) survivor's pension benefits due to a lack of active service during a period of war. The case was remanded to further investigate potential toxic exposure and obtain additional medical evidence regarding the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's death was attributable to VA care, specifically an incompatible blood transfusion.
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