The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, impotence, peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities, and depression have all been denied as secondary to herbicide exposure. The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran was exposed to Agent Orange in Panama.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service records do not indicate any exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during his service in Panama. There is no credible evidence of such exposure, and the presumption for diseases associated with herbicide exposure does not apply to the Panama Canal Zone.
- Claimed conditions
- Type II diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, impotence, peripheral neuropathy of both upper and both lower extremities, depression
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2010
- Citation
- 1033913
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 1033913.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
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