The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including malignant melanoma, lymphoma, tinnitus, obesity, diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, bilateral hearing loss disability, peripheral neuropathy of the left and right feet, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and sleep apnea have all been denied. The denial is based on a lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or any other relevant factor.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not serve in Vietnam and there is no affirmative evidence that he was exposed to herbicides. Additionally, the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that any of the claimed conditions had their onset during service or are otherwise related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant Melanoma, Lymphoma, Tinnitus, Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Erectile Dysfunction, Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Left Foot, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Right Foot, Ischemic Heart Disease, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066995
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20066995.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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