The Board denied service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left and right upper extremities, finding no evidence of a nexus to active duty or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided negative opinions regarding direct, presumptive, and secondary service connection, citing lack of objective findings and medical literature supporting a relationship between diabetes mellitus II and carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity (LUE), Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity (RUE)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20048645
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20048645.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity is granted as service connected. The left knee disability and psychiatric disorder are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents during service and associate a TERA Memorandum with the record.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's RUE and LUE neuropathy are granted with ratings of 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining additional medical evidence and readjudicating the claims.
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