The Board remands the claim for further development, specifically to obtain an addendum medical opinion clarifying whether the Veteran's 'hairy cell or other B-Cell leukemia' is a separate and distinct condition from his service-connected Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
The deciding factor: Further clarification of the examiner's opinion is necessary due to ambiguity in the diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- hairy cell leukemia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21062804
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 hairy cell leukemia as due to herbicide exposure and the cause of death, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hairy cell leukemia as the evidence did not support a finding that it began during service, manifested to a compensable degree within one year after discharge from active duty, or was otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hairy cell leukemia, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his military service and exposure to contaminated drinking water at Fort Sam Houston.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of hairy cell leukemia to confirm exposure to ionizing radiation and obtain a medical opinion on its etiology.
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