The Veteran's cause of death, sepsis and acute myeloid leukemia with toxic encephalopathy, was not caused by or related to his military service. The Board found that the available evidence did not show a nexus between the Veteran's exposure to toxins or herbicides and his death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided no support for a link between the Veteran's exposure to PFAS and AFFF and his cause of death, sepsis, acute myeloid leukemia, and toxic encephalopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- sepsis, acute myeloid leukemia, toxic encephalopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2026
- Citation
- A26020703
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 A26020703.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's service-connected hypertension contributed to his cause of death, and therefore grants service connection for the cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's hypertension and coronary artery disease, which may have contributed to his cause of death.
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