The Board has granted earlier effective dates of June 17, 2013 for service connection for Parkinson’s disease with neurocognitive disorder and eight secondary disabilities (right upper extremity tremor, left upper extremity tremor, right lower extremity muscle rigidity and stiffness, left lower extremity muscle rigidity and stiffness, loss of sense of smell, speech changes, difficulty chewing and swallowing, and balance impairment) as secondary to the Veteran's Parkinson’s disease. The effective dates are based on a presumption of service connection due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is sufficient evidence to support an earlier effective date for service connection based on the presumption provided by VA regulations for veterans exposed to chemical contaminants at Camp Lejeune, including Parkinson’s disease. The Veteran's in-service exposure was brief and to a water supply likely low in contamination levels, with two of the well-established risk factors (male sex and age over 60) present.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson’s disease with neurocognitive disorder, right upper extremity tremor with bradykinesia and slowed motion, left upper extremity tremor with bradykinesia and slowed motion, right lower extremity muscle rigidity and stiffness, left lower extremity muscle rigidity and stiffness, loss of sense of smell, speech changes, difficulty chewing and swallowing, balance impairment
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- A19002694
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19002694.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates and increased ratings has been withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of sense of taste, loss of sense of smell, and pelvic condition are denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder beyond unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's effective date for adding his mother as a dependent parent to his VA disability compensation award is granted, with the effective date being November 10, 2022.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial rating for loss of sense of smell associated with Parkinson's disease is denied. A 30 percent rating, but no higher, is granted for balance impairment associated with Parkinson's disease. The reductions in ratings for left and right upper extremity impairments are found to be improper and the previous ratings are restored.
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