The Board found that the Veteran's current neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities is not related to his service, including frostbite experienced during active duty. The claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's neuropathy is more likely caused by polysubstance abuse than cold exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2012
- Citation
- 1226811
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 1226811.
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 Board denied service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine disability, ocular migraines, neuropathy of bilateral upper and lower extremities, bilateral shoulder disability, low back disability, and Osgood-Schlatter's disease of the left knee. The Board found no evidence that these conditions were related to active service.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the statutory housebound rate effective April 1, 2020. The claim for SMC prior to December 31, 2019 was dismissed as moot.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, type II diabetes mellitus, and neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for Parkinson's disease, neuropathy of bilateral upper and lower extremities, and unspecified neurocognitive disorder due to in-service herbicide exposure. Additional medical opinions are needed to address these issues.
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