The veteran's appeal is currently on hold due to a stay imposed by the Secretary of VA. The issues related to service connection for diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, bilateral neuropathy of the feet, bilateral vision problems, loss of a right foot toe, and bilateral ulcers of the feet are subject to this stay. Hypertension remains an issue that will be addressed once the stay is lifted.
The deciding factor: The veteran's appeal has been stayed due to a decision in Haas v. Nicholson, which created a presumption of herbicide exposure based on receipt of the Vietnam Service Medal for purposes of service connection for diseases associated with herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease (CAD), bilateral neuropathy of the feet, bilateral vision problems, loss of a right foot toe, bilateral ulcers of the feet, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2006
- Citation
- 0637399
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 952 · Granted: 17% (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 0637399.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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