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Denied

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the award of separate disability ratings for various diabetic neuropathy conditions were denied.,The Veteran's claims for initial compensable disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension were also denied.

The deciding factor: The effective dates assigned are based on when service connection was established or when the Veteran filed his claim. The criteria for increased ratings have not been met as the current evaluations reflect the severity of the conditions.

Claimed conditions
Diabetes Mellitus, Bilateral Lower Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Right Upper Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Left Upper Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Sciatic Nerve Right Lower Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Sciatic Nerve Left Lower Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Femoral Nerve Right Lower Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy, Femoral Nerve Left Lower Extremity Diabetic Neuropathy
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 7, 2019
Citation
19135394

Veterans Law Judge

DONNIE R. HACHEY

Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 19135394.

What this means for you

A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.

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