The Veteran's diabetes mellitus and allergic rhinitis were aggravated by service, while her sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities was found to be etiologically related to a pre-existing condition (degenerative disc disease), and her bilateral chondromalacia patella did not undergo aggravation during service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, allergic rhinitis, and sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the lower extremities were found to be aggravated by active service. The Veteran's pre-existing bilateral chondromalacia patella was not aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, allergic rhinitis, sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, bilateral chondromalacia patella
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20065158
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20065158.
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.
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- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
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