The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have service in Vietnam, and thus is not entitled to presumptive service connection for any of his claimed conditions based on herbicide exposure. The claims are being remanded as there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service records do not indicate he served in the inland waterways of Vietnam where herbicide exposure would be presumed, and no credible evidence supports his claim of such exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus type 2, diabetic retinopathy, ischemic heart disease, peripheral cardiovascular arterial (occlusive) disease of the left lower extremity, peripheral cardiovascular arterial (occlusive) disease of the right lower extremity, erectile dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18135134
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 18135134.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- 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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