The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection. His right and left shoulder disabilities are denied service connection. The initial rating for CAD remains at 10%. The initial ratings for diabetes mellitus prior to March 22, 2018 remain at 20%, while the increased rating from that date onwards is also denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension was granted as it met all elements of service connection: current disability (diagnosed in 2004), presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service, and a positive association between herbicide agent exposure and hypertension. The right and left shoulder disabilities were not found to be related to service due to lack of evidence of an injury or disease in service that could be etiologically linked.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- December 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19193176
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19193176.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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