The Veteran's claim of an earlier effective date for type II diabetes mellitus is denied. The claims to reopen his service connection for hypertension and pancreatitis are both found to have new and material evidence, but the effectiveness of reopening remains unclear due to conflicting medical opinions.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted that suggests a possible link between the Veteran's herbicide exposure and pancreatitis, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating this claim. However, there is no direct evidence linking hypertension to active duty service or type II diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, hypertension, pancreatitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2009
- Citation
- 0936489
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 0936489.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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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