The Veteran's service-connected DM and heart disability are presumed due to herbicide exposure. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions, but the Appellant contends that other disabilities are secondary to these conditions. A VA medical opinion is needed to address this issue.
The deciding factor: A VA medical opinion is required to determine if any of the claimed disabilities are related to or aggravated by the service-connected DM and heart disability.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep apnea, seizure disorder (epilepsy), eye disability (macular degeneration), erectile dysfunction, psychiatric disability, stroke, neuropathies (focal), loss of balance and coordination
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2015
- Citation
- 1541945
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1541945.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- 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.
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