The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to service connection for diabetes mellitus, including whether the Veteran's exposure to herbicides is applicable based on his service in Vietnam. The claim will be reconsidered with additional evidence and a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because of concerns about the applicability of the presumption of herbicide exposure due to the location of the USS Sacramento during service, and for consideration of direct service connection based on the Veteran's assertions of exposure to contaminated water and chemicals.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005214
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 20005214.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular Aid and Attendance is granted as of April 25, 2024.,For diabetes mellitus, a rating in excess of 20 percent is denied.
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