The Veteran's medical expenses incurred from November 27 to December 23, 2015 at St. Luke’s Medical Center were granted as the nearest VA facility was impractical due to his severe condition and treatment needs.
The deciding factor: The severity of the Veteran's acute myeloid leukemia necessitated immediate treatment at a non-VA facility, making transfer to a VA facility impractical.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19192719
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (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 19192719.
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 incomplete service personnel records, which may affect the Veteran's cause of death claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for acute myeloid leukemia is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ needs to obtain an updated medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's AML, including its relationship to in-service herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(o) and (r)(1) based on his need for aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, acute myeloid leukemia, is found to be directly related to his in-service exposure to Agent Orange and benzene. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
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