The Board denied service connection for myelodysplastic syndrome, including leukemia, as the evidence did not support a link to in-service radiation exposure or other in-service incurrence.
The deciding factor: The record does not show that the Veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation during his service and there is no competent medical evidence linking his leukemia to such exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- myelodysplastic syndrome, leukemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2024
- Citation
- 24031589
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 myelodysplastic syndrome, finding that the Veteran had presumptive exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's significant conditions at the time of his death were related to his service, including any toxic exposure risk activities (TERA), and if so, whether they had a material influence on the acceleration of his death.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a blood disorder of acquired autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for a blood disorder of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDN/MPN) with neutrophilia/atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus with an effective date of January 4, 2022, but no earlier. Service connection was also granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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