The Board remands the claim for service connection for acute myeloid leukemia to obtain a more thorough medical opinion regarding its etiology, including whether it is related to herbicide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The September 2018 VA examination was found inadequate as it did not provide an opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's diagnosed AML, particularly in relation to his conceded exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- acute myeloid leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2024
- Citation
- 24004230
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for acute myeloid leukemia and leukemic retinopathy with vitreal hemorrhage, but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for acute myeloid leukemia, finding that the evidence supports a link to the Veteran's service in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War era.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for acute myeloid leukemia to ensure an adequate medical opinion is obtained, as the previous VA examination was found inadequate.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that the Veteran's causes of death were acute myeloid leukemia and metastatic rectal cancer, and neither hypertension nor coronary artery disease caused or contributed to his death.
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