The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking leukemia, a non-B-cell type of leukemia, to service or presumed herbicide exposure. The Veteran's death was attributed to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
The deciding factor: There is no reliable evidence linking the Veteran’s leukemia to service, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20001707
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 chronic myelogenous leukemia based on the Veteran's presumed exposure to fine particulate matter during his service in Southwest Asia.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic myelogenous leukemia, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding a nexus to his presumed herbicide exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 23, 2011, for the grant of service connection for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and denied an earlier effective date prior to November 24, 2020, for special monthly compensation based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic myelogenous leukemia, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's condition and his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
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