The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus was denied, and his service connection claim for a skin condition including PCT due to herbicide exposure was remanded. The Board found no evidence of diabetic complications warranting separate ratings or any compensable conditions related to the Veteran's diabetes. For the skin condition claim, the Board noted that there is no record of a diagnosis of PCT and the Veteran’s current skin disabilities are not linked to his in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a nexus between the Veteran's current skin conditions and his in-service herbicide exposure. The Veteran's skin conditions were diagnosed after service, and there was no medical opinion linking them to his military service or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19194059
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 19194059.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a psychiatric disability due to insufficient evidence of the severity required for higher ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for his diabetes mellitus, a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, but denied service connection for multiple tooth trauma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
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