The veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection were denied as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating or establish service connection.
The deciding factor: The veteran's diabetes mellitus was manageable by restricted diet only prior to November 23, 2005, and required insulin and restricted diet thereafter. There was no evidence of optic neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, nor was there new and material evidence to reopen the claim for removal of left little toe.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus, type II, Optic neuropathy (claimed as glaucoma), Peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 22, 2009
- Citation
- 0902311
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (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 0902311.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding the lack of development related to Agent Orange exposure and solvent/asbestos exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of August 10, 2022 for hypertension and July 25, 2023 for diabetes mellitus, type II, bilateral lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a bilateral hearing loss disability, and tinnitus.,The Veteran's conditions were found to have manifested no later than the dates specified in their respective effective dates.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that the Appellant's claim was not properly reopened and that the earliest available effective date is June 14, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's spouse is granted an effective date of April 12, 2022 for dependency compensation based on the establishment of a disability rating in the percentage evaluation specified by law.
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