The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral lower extremity disability, diagnosed as sensory axonal polyneuropathy, was not incurred in or aggravated by service and could not be presumed to have been incurred during such service due to exposure to herbicides. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding of direct causation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's current bilateral lower extremity disability is attributed to vitamin B-12 deficiency, which was diagnosed many years after discharge from service and without any link to active duty service or Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0608386
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0608386.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's current peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities was incurred during his period of active service, including exposure to herbicides in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board granted service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The appeal regarding the July 2, 2020 rating decision for PTSD was denied. The claims of service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities were also denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and the need for additional medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities due to a need for further clarity on the nature and etiology of the Veteran's conditions.
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