The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's myelodysplasia was caused by his military service, including herbicide exposure. A VA medical opinion is needed to address this issue.
The deciding factor: A VA medical opinion is required to determine if the Veteran’s myelodysplasia was caused by his active duty service, including as due to acknowledged herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Myelodysplasia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177352
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 19177352.
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 Veteran's cause of death (AML due to myelodysplasia) is granted as service-connected, with the Board finding that his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam likely contributed to his condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for cause of death and recognition as a helpless child due to lack of new and material evidence, and because she was not permanently incapable of self-support before reaching the age of 18.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), was not related to his presumed exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange during service in Vietnam. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is also denied.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence linking the cause of death (acute leukemia and myelodysplasia) to service-connected conditions, thus denying the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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