Service connection is granted for prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus, type II.,Service connection is granted for tractional retinal detachment of the left eye, bilateral proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities remains pending as a remand is required to obtain an opinion.
The deciding factor: Service connection is granted based on exposure to herbicide agents during active duty in Korea, which established presumptive service connection.,Service connection is granted due to continuity of symptomatology and the relationship between diabetes mellitus and the Veteran's diagnosed conditions.,The claim for service connection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities requires further examination as the current opinion is inadequate.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus, type II, tractional retinal detachment of the left eye, bilateral proliferative diabetic retinopathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005102
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · 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 20005102.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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