The Veteran's claim for left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was granted with an effective date of July 2, 2004. The claim had been pending since his initial service connection denial in June 1998 due to the submission of new and material evidence within a year of that decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran submitted new and material evidence (a September 2002 mental health evaluation and May/June 2006 VA treatment records) related to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate his claim: early-onset peripheral neuropathy associated with herbicide exposure. This evidence was not previously considered by agency decision makers.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002670
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 Board granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that the conditions are related to Agent Orange exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis, small bowel obstruction, to include small bowel perforation, status post left hemicolectomy, Hartman's pouch and ileostomy (bowel condition), as well as right and left upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to a finding that an adequate VA medical opinion was not obtained.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for asthma but denied all other claims, including service connection for various conditions and a compensable rating for scars between the scapulae.
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