The Veteran's claims for service connection for Parkinson’s disease and a neurological disorder diagnosed as essential bilateral hand tremors, MGUS and monoclonal neuropathy are granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his Vietnam service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities is more likely than not due to his diagnosed conditions of monoclonal neuropathy due to MGUS, which is related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson’s disease, neurological disorder diagnosed as essential bilateral hand tremors, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), monoclonal neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19193012
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · 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 19193012.
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 Veteran's service connection claims for pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, hypertension, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), and coronary artery disease are all granted. The Board found that the evidence was in approximate balance regarding exposure to herbicides at Fort Drum during service, which likely contributed to the development of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for multiple myeloma, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), and smoldering myeloma is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during service in Korea.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his claims for increased ratings in multiple conditions, including Parkinson's disease and associated symptoms. The appeals are dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for prostate cancer, melanoma, Parkinson’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism due to herbicide exposure as they are no longer valid since the Veteran died more than four years ago.
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