The Veteran is granted an effective date of August 18, 2014 for the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease due to herbicide exposure. The Board found that the Veteran met all eligibility criteria on the effective date of the liberalizing law (August 31, 2010) and that such eligibility existed continuously from that date to the date of claim (August 19, 2015).
The deciding factor: The evidence showed the Veteran was likely afflicted with arteriosclerotic heart disease prior to August 31, 2010, which is when ischemic heart disease was added to the list of diseases presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The Board found that the Veteran met all eligibility criteria for the liberalized benefit on this date and that such eligibility existed continuously from then until the date of claim.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125349
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 appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease, vascular headaches, and cerebrovascular accident with left eye vision problem rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from April 1, 2015 to May 28, 2018.
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