The Veteran's service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to Agent Orange exposure is granted. The case is remanded for an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's hypertension.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided conflicting opinions on the etiology of the Veteran’s peripheral neuropathy, with one favoring a service connection based on Agent Orange exposure and another finding no such connection. For hypertension, the examiner was asked to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the condition is related to Agent Orange exposure or aggravated by coronary artery disease.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072876
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (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 20072876.
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 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 claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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