The Board has granted service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus and its complications, as due to herbicide exposure in the Republic of Vietnam. The Veteran's amputation of the right fourth toe, bilateral diabetic neuropathy of the feet, kidney disability, erectile dysfunction, and diabetic retinopathy are all found to be secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in the Republic of Vietnam and has been diagnosed with various conditions related to diabetes mellitus. The medical opinions provided support a finding that these conditions are at least as likely as not caused by or a result of his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, amputation of the right fourth toe, bilateral diabetic neuropathy of the feet, kidney disability, erectile dysfunction, diabetic retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19132270
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19132270.
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 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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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