The Veteran's cause of death is granted due to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. Service connection for CLL and coronary artery disease are also granted as they are presumed related to herbicide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on the presumption that the Veteran’s conditions were caused by his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death (cardiopulmonary arrest), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19196174
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 19196174.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of April 5, 2011, for the grant of service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and an initial rating of 100 percent from that date to April 26, 2013.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) based on the Veteran's participation in toxic exposure risk activities during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the August 2024 rating decision.
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