The veteran does not have a current diagnosis of Type II diabetes mellitus, and the evidence is insufficient to establish that his other claimed conditions are related to service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: There was no conclusive evidence of Type II diabetes mellitus in the medical records reviewed, and opinions linking the other conditions to service were based on unsubstantiated histories.
- Claimed conditions
- Essential hypertension, Generalized arthritis, Psoriasis, Type II diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2008
- Citation
- 0815131
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 195 · Granted: 24% (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 0815131.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, finding that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service at Udorn RTAFB and thus meets the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected psoriasis and bilateral hearing loss.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, finding that his service-connected left ankle disability, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, left knee pain, left hip pain, and loss of use of the left big toe disabilities have caused him to become obese, which in turn led to his development of type II diabetes mellitus.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.