The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and glaucoma, finding that there was no evidence of in-service exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides. The diabetes claim is denied as it did not manifest within one year after separation from service and is unrelated to any injury or disease during service. As a result, the secondary claim for glaucoma also cannot be granted.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no evidence of exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service, which is required for presumptive service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, glaucoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0916809
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 0916809.
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.
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- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and sleep apnea to obtain a TERA opinion due to the Veteran's participation in a toxic exposure risk activity during his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.
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