The Veteran's DM2 and coronary artery disease are granted service connection due to presumed herbicide exposure. The Board has found the Veteran's hypertension, neuropathy of upper extremities, and neuropathy of lower extremities may be related to his service-connected conditions or presumed herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran served in waters off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War era, presumptively exposed to herbicides. His current diagnoses are linked to this exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20004421
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease, vascular headaches, and cerebrovascular accident with left eye vision problem rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from April 1, 2015 to May 28, 2018.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.