The Veteran's claim for service connection for myelodysplastic syndrome, claimed as leukemia, due to herbicide exposure is denied. The earlier effective date for a 70% evaluation for PTSD is also denied.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of myelodysplastic syndrome or leukemia in service or within one year post-service, and the condition does not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- myelodysplastic syndrome, claimed as leukemia
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19180011
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 19180011.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 myelodysplastic syndrome, finding that the Veteran had presumptive exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's significant conditions at the time of his death were related to his service, including any toxic exposure risk activities (TERA), and if so, whether they had a material influence on the acceleration of his death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and initial rating were dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review options.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected painful left knee scar, effective October 26, 2022, and remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for myelodysplastic syndrome.
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