The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support the appellant's assertion of exposure to Agent Orange and thus no service connection could be established.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran was ever assigned to a unit where his official duties required performing regular maintenance on contaminated former Operation Ranch Hand C-123 aircrafts, which is necessary for presumptive service connection based on exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- bone marrow failure, multiple myeloma, end-stage kidney disease, bleeding related to a urinary tract infection
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20021492
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 20021492.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 100 percent for service-connected multiple myeloma has been denied. The Board also remanded two issues related to nerve neuropathies, and the claims for TDIU and SMC have been denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for multiple myeloma and back problems due to a duty to assist error. For multiple myeloma, the Veteran's exposure to asbestos is not verified. For back problems, an addendum opinion is needed to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding her training-related injuries.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for multiple myeloma, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for multiple myeloma, diabetes mellitus II, and coronary artery disease (CAD) based on the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
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