The Veteran's service connection claim for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which he contends is related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure, has been remanded due to insufficient evidence of his presence within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's personnel records show service aboard ships that may have been within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam, but confirmation is needed for presumptive service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20006053
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 lymphocytic leukemia, coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus type II, and Parkinson's disease based on presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and a skin disorder due to an improper concurrent election. The effective dates for the lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathies, and TDIU were denied as they did not meet the criteria for earlier effective dates.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for restoration of a compensable evaluation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and service connection for chronic kidney disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is presumed to be a result of herbicide exposure during the Veteran's military service.
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