The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, and left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy are granted. The VA is directed to schedule the Veteran for examinations to determine if his hypertension, PTSD, sleep apnea, loss of teeth, pulmonary edema, and erectile dysfunction are related to his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service in Thailand and grants service connection for these conditions based on this exposure. The VA is directed to provide examinations to determine if the Veteran's other conditions are also related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19182580
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 399 · Granted: 41% (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 19182580.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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