The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, ischemic heart disease, and lung cancer due to herbicide exposure. The evidence did not support a finding of in-service herbicide exposure or direct service connection.
The deciding factor: There was no credible evidence of herbicide exposure during service, and the Veteran's diagnoses were not associated with herbicide exposure based on available medical literature.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19193961
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 19193961.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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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.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
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