The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to ensure proper development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for acute myelocytic leukemia and cause of death. The Veteran was exposed to Agent Orange during his military service, which may be related to his AML diagnosis.
The deciding factor: VA internal review found AML not a qualifying condition under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e) due to lack of presumptive conditions, but the private medical opinion suggests it is more likely than not caused by Agent Orange exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19147813
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · 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 19147813.
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 the Veteran's cause of death due to acute myelocytic leukemia, finding that it was related to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during his active service in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) due to Agent Orange exposure, for purposes of accrued benefits.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) due to Agent Orange exposure, finding that there is no evidence of a direct or presumptive relationship between his AML and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board previously denied the claim for AML due to Agent Orange exposure, but the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) has ordered a remand because the September 2014 VA examination did not discuss whether the leukemia was presumptively linked to Agent Orange. The Veteran's death while his appeal was pending at the Court necessitated substitution.
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