The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities due to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's conditions are presumed to be related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand near the perimeter of Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB). His diagnoses of diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy are associated with his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Board found that the evidence is at least in equipoise regarding the Veteran's direct exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2020
- Citation
- A20009405
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 A20009405.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- 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.
- 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.
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