The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), due to benzene exposure during active duty.
The deciding factor: The most persuasive evidence supported a finding that the Veteran was exposed to benzene on active duty and that his CML, which caused his death, was etiologically related to this benzene exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25110155
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25110155.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the status as a surviving spouse for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) purposes, denied service connection for right hand arthritis and obstructive sleep apnea, granted service connection for chronic myelocytic leukemia, and denied earlier effective dates for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss. The claims for increased ratings and other remanded issues were also addressed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding radiation exposure and potential aggravation of conditions by CML.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking CML and/or AML to his service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's CML is not related to his service, including exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The claim for service connection was denied.
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