The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity and upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as a bilateral foot condition (excluding peripheral neuropathy), finding that there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions. The Board also found that any current disabilities are not related to military service.
The deciding factor: The March 2020 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy conditions are more likely due to his non-service-connected condition of diabetes mellitus, rather than being related to in-service treatment for foot pain. The Board also found no evidence of continuous symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, Bilateral foot condition (excluding peripheral neuropathy)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2020
- Citation
- 20038622
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 20038622.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher level of SMC was denied as the Board found that he is already in receipt of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease with congestive heart failure. A second award of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance was not warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for SMC based on housebound status and need for aid and attendance, finding that he did not meet the criteria for these benefits prior to the specified dates.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment since December 6, 2012. An earlier effective date of December 6, 2012, for the TDIU and DEA benefits is granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to herbicide agent exposure, but denied service connection for bilateral upper extremity neuropathy (diagnosed as bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome) based on the lack of evidence showing a nexus between the condition and service.
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