The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection for vitiligo and pernicious anemia as secondary to Agent Orange exposure are not well-grounded, based on lack of medical evidence associating these conditions with his active service.
The deciding factor: The medical records did not associate the veteran's skin disorder (vitiligo) or anemia (pernicious anemia) with his active service and no competent medical expert has associated either condition with exposure to herbicide agents used in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- vitiligo, pernicious anemia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2000
- Citation
- 0005235
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 0005235.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for vitiligo has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for vitiligo and gastrointestinal disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, right hand disability, left hand disability, and other knee and ankle disabilities. The decision also addressed the rating of PTSD.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for allergic rhinitis and denied increased ratings for vitiligo, bilateral pes planus, right great toe gout, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
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