Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Denied

The Board denied service connection for Parkinson’s disease and remanded other issues due to insufficient evidence. Service connection was granted for peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, as well as glaucoma (eye disability), paronychia/onychia, sleep apnea, colon polyps, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and hypothyroidism.

The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran did not have Parkinson’s disease or any evidence of its onset during service. The glaucoma was determined to be less likely related to herbicide exposure due to lack of evidence in literature supporting such a connection. Other conditions were also deemed unrelated to service based on medical opinion and lack of evidence.

Claimed conditions
Parkinson’s disease, Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, Glaucoma (eye disability), Paronychia/onychia, Sleep apnea, Colon polyps, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Hypothyroidism
How they argued it
Presumptive (no nexus needed)
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
August 14, 2019
Citation
19163059

Veterans Law Judge

T. MAINELLI

Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 19163059.

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.

What you can do next

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.