The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for the cause of death due to new and material evidence. However, it was denied as there is no evidence of exposure to herbicides or Agent Orange during service, which would have allowed for presumptive service connection.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence to verify that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides or Agent Orange while serving in Korea or Thailand.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, congestive cardiomyopathy, chronic atrial fibrillation, multiple myeloma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122868
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 19122868.
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 has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 100 percent for service-connected multiple myeloma has been denied. The Board also remanded two issues related to nerve neuropathies, and the claims for TDIU and SMC have been denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for multiple myeloma, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for multiple myeloma and back problems due to a duty to assist error. For multiple myeloma, the Veteran's exposure to asbestos is not verified. For back problems, an addendum opinion is needed to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding her training-related injuries.
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