The Board has granted service connection for Lewy body disease as a result of exposure to herbicides, finding that the Veteran's early onset dementia with Lewy bodies is more likely than not the direct result of his service in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: A private medical opinion found that the Veteran's early onset dementia with Lewy bodies was essentially the same disease process as Parkinson’s disease, which is a presumptive condition related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Lewy body disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20063044
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 20063044.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of January 22, 2016 for the award of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on service connection for Lewy body disease. This decision is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for Lewy body disease and remanded the issue of whether obstructive sleep apnea was aggravated by a service-connected psychiatric disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to develop the record regarding the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange and to provide a VA medical examination or opinion to determine the nature and etiology of his Lewy body disease.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected bilateral shoulder strains do not render him in need of regular aid and attendance or housebound due to his other nonservice-connected conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson's disease.
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