The Veteran's diagnosed CLL is presumed to be related to his exposure to herbicides during service, and the Board finds that this evidence is at least in equipoise with the other opinions, granting service connection for CLL.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions are considered competent and after resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds the evidence to be at least in equipoise in showing that his CLL is related to his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20036096
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 20036096.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for cerebrovascular strokes and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded all five service connection claims due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain National Guard records for ADT or IDT. The Veteran's exposure to insecticides during his New York Air National Guard service is considered presumptive for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, CKD, COPD, and CLL.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's rectal cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were not related to his exposure to herbicide agents during military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for cardiovascular disorder and CLL due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. The Veteran will need a VA examination to determine if his current conditions are related to service, including stress from service, or ionizing radiation exposure during active duty.
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