The Veteran's biological daughter, A.D., became permanently incapable of self-support due to her childhood leukemia and the side effects from the leukemia treatment including psychological impacts prior to attaining the age of 18. The Board granted the claim for additional dependency compensation.
The deciding factor: The evidence indicates that A.D.'s learning ability was impacted by her childhood leukemia and its associated cranial radiation therapy, leading to a prolonged stay in special education programs throughout most of her school years. Her psychological disability manifested as schizophrenia after she became 18 years old but also had pre-18 age psychological difficulties due to the side effects from the leukemia treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- Leukemia, Psychological Impairment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2023
- Citation
- 23040019
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 23040019.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and Leukemia have prevented him from obtaining or maintaining employment, leading to a grant of TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in duty to assist and needs additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's leukemia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to obtain a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death was related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and whether it is at least as likely as not that the causes were proximately due or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for leukemia, finding that his exposure to radiation during Operation Sandstone qualifies him as a presumptive radiation-exposed veteran and thus meeting the criteria for service connection.
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