The Board has granted the Appellant's application to reopen her previously denied claim for service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that his AML was related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents. The cause of death is therefore considered service-connected.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided a reasoned explanation linking the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents (including Agent Orange) with his subsequent development of Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), which was listed as an immediate cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190629
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19190629.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) due to Agent Orange exposure, for purposes of accrued benefits.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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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