The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection for numbness of the extremities, attributing it to Agent Orange exposure. The Board found no evidence of a chronic disease within one year post-service and concluded that the current condition is not related to service or Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: There was no diagnosed organic disease of the nervous system within one year after separation from service, and the veteran's numbness did not manifest until years after service. The Board found no evidence linking the current condition to service or Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- numbness of the extremities
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2003
- Citation
- 0304972
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0304972.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's left wrist ganglion cyst was incurred during active service and granted service connection. The claim for numbness of the extremities, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection and new and material evidence issues due to additional medical records submitted since the most recent SSOC.
- Denied
The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, but these claims have been denied on their merits.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for numbness of the extremities and an increased evaluation for his thoracic spine disability, finding no evidence of a current disability primarily manifested by numbness of the extremities. The claim for an increased rating for the thoracic spine was granted but at a lower 20 percent level.
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