The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II and CAD have been granted service connection as due to herbicide exposure. The claims for gout, acquired psychiatric disability (including bipolar disorder), pulmonary condition, residuals of breast cancer, and erectile dysfunction are remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection is granted based on presumed exposure to herbicides during active duty in Thailand.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease (CAD), gout, acquired psychiatric disability (including bipolar disorder), pulmonary condition, residuals of breast cancer (other than erectile dysfunction), erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184692
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 19184692.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's gout claim for additional development, including obtaining an adequate VA examination and ensuring all relevant records are obtained. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.
- 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.
- 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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