The Veteran's claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, kidney condition, diabetic retinopathy, thyroid cancer, esophageal cancer, and lung cancer are all granted. The claim for service connection for Charcot foot is remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on herbicide exposure in Vietnam-era service.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus (DM), kidney condition (diagnosed as diabetic nephropathy and chronic kidney disease), diabetic retinopathy, thyroid cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19187982
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 19187982.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for thyroid cancer, as it was not shown to be chronic in service and did not manifest within the applicable presumptive period.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
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