The Veteran's diabetes mellitus is granted as service-connected due to exposure to Agent Orange. Service connection for a heart disorder, bilateral knee and hip disorders, and skin disorder of the toes are denied.
The deciding factor: Diabetes mellitus is presumed to be associated with herbicide exposure due to Agent Orange. The other conditions lack direct evidence of onset in service or as related to service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart disorder (other than hypertension), bilateral knee disorder, bilateral hip disorder, skin disorder of the toes
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19157818
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 19157818.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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