The Board has granted service connection for a right submandibular lipoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the right back and right proximal forearm, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to in-service exposure to herbicides. Service connection was denied for disability of the lymph nodes.
The deciding factor: Service connection is established based on presumed exposure to Agent Orange during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Disability of the lymph nodes, Left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Right submandibular lipoma, Squamous cell carcinoma of the right back and right proximal forearm
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065482
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 20065482.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU and DEA claims are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors prior to the rating decision on review. The effective date for TDIU is set at January 31, 2021, based on the last day of employment. However, the RO needs to obtain SSA records regarding earnings from July 2020 to January 31, 2021, to determine if the Veteran's employment was marginal.
- Granted
The rating reduction from 20 percent to 10 percent for the service-connected right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was improper, and restoration of the 20 percent rating is granted. The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for the right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are rated at 10 percent each. The Board denied entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for both conditions.
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