The Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease, Type II diabetes mellitus, and related disabilities are granted. The Board also remanded the Veteran’s claim for service connection for hypertension and a left knee disorder.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during his active service in Vietnam, which is sufficient evidence for presumptive service connection of certain conditions including coronary artery disease and Type II diabetes mellitus. The Board also found that the Veteran's hypertension may be related to his exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, Type II diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, diabetic foot affecting the right foot, diabetic foot affecting the left foot
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20049641
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 20049641.
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 an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
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