The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for Parkinson's disease. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's Parkinson's disease, including essential tremor, is related to his exposure to hazardous chemicals during service. Therefore, service connection for Parkinson's disease is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found the evidence of record to be at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's Parkinson's disease was related to his exposure to hazardous chemicals in service, and therefore granted service connection based on this finding.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson's disease, essential tremor
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130149
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 19130149.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's essential tremor is related to his military service, granting his claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, headaches, an acquired psychiatric disorder (other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and PTSD), and Parkinson's disease. The conditions are presumed to be due to exposure in service.,Service connection is established for all four claimed conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected conditions, including Parkinson's disease and related disabilities of the upper and lower extremities, have caused loss of use in both hands and need for aid and attendance due to his lower extremity disability, kidney disease, and neurogenic bladder. The Board has granted SMC based on these findings.
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