The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnoses of diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, and skin cancer are not related to his military service, including exposure to herbicides. Therefore, these claims for service connection were denied.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence linking any current disabilities to the Veteran's military service or to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type II, Coronary Artery Disease, Skin Cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2009
- Citation
- 0945512
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 0945512.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's ESRD is denied as not related to service, including herbicide agent exposure. The skin cancer of the right ear remains under remand for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD alone is sufficient to grant a TDIU, and his other service-connected disabilities are at least 60% combined. The Veteran also meets the criteria for SMC based on housebound status.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU was granted effective March 2, 2018, due to his service-connected disabilities including PTSD and other conditions. The decision also noted that the Veteran is currently self-employed as a truck driver.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a heart disability and hypertension due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ is required to obtain addendum medical opinions regarding toxic exposure risk activities (TERA).
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