The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus and its secondary effects on other disabilities, have been denied as there is no evidence of in-service exposure to herbicide agents or direct service connection.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established due to lack of documented exposure to herbicide agents during service and the absence of a showing of chronic disability resulting from such exposure. The Veteran's conditions are not otherwise related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, bilateral eye condition (claimed as diabetic retinopathy and macular edema), peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, erectile dysfunction, cirrhosis of liver
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1804065
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 1804065.
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 sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches with an initial rating of 50 percent effective from August 10, 2022, and denied the claims for service connection for a right knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disability, low back disability, and erectile dysfunction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding its etiology.
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