The Veteran's service connection claims for cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, left hand polyarthritis, right hand polyarthritis, left foot rheumatoid arthritis (due to Agent Orange exposure), and right foot rheumatoid arthritis (due to Agent Orange exposure) have been denied. The Board found that the disorders are not related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions based on the Veteran's extensive post-service history of heavy machinist work, lack of injuries during service, and lack of post-service treatment indicated the disorders were not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disorder, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (due to Agent Orange exposure), Left foot rheumatoid arthritis (due to Agent Orange exposure), Left hand polyarthritis, Lumbar spine disorder, Right foot rheumatoid arthritis (due to Agent Orange exposure), Right hand polyarthritis
- 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
- 19193248
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (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 19193248.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and psychiatric disorder due to incomplete information. The Veteran needs to provide his complete service personnel records, verify his alleged combat experience in Vietnam, and undergo VA examinations for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the initial ratings assigned for psoriatic arthritis of the upper and lower extremities, as well as service connection for a cervical spine disorder, need to be remanded due to incomplete evidence. The Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ADT) and inactive duty for training (IDT) must be confirmed, and all relevant medical records should be obtained.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance, warranting an effective date of January 8, 2014 for SMC based on the need for aid and attendance.
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