The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities, finding that new and material evidence was not received to reopen these claims. The Board also found that the Veteran's current peripheral neuropathies are not related to his active duty or service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a direct link between the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy and his active duty, nor can it be presumed due to herbicide exposure. The VA examiners concluded that the Veteran's current peripheral neuropathies are related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, but not caused by or aggravated by it.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral Neuropathy, Right Lower Extremity, Peripheral Neuropathy, Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2016
- Citation
- 1623733
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 1623733.
What this means for you
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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 claims for left hip disability and peripheral neuropathy due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining medical records and an adequate VA examination.
- Partly granted
The Board granted higher ratings for peripheral neuropathy in the right and left upper extremities and lower extremities, but denied a higher rating for diabetes mellitus type II.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to underlying influenza type A, with contributing causes being chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The VA medical opinions found no direct nexus between the Veteran's COPD, CLL, or ARDS and toxic exposures other than herbicide agents during active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, HTN, and bilateral lower extremity neuropathy due to their secondary nature to his already service-connected schizophrenia.
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