The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, finding that it is not causally related to the Veteran's military service or any other condition. The decision also found no evidence of secondary service connection due to asbestos exposure and/or service-connected restrictive lung disease.
The deciding factor: The March 2017 VA examiner concluded that there was insufficient evidence linking diabetes mellitus type II to the Veteran's in-service exposure to asbestos, and the June 2018 VHA examiner found no direct cause and effect relationship between the two. The June 2020 VA examiner also stated that there is no medical link or rigorous studied research showing a connection between asbestos exposure and diabetes mellitus type II.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus type II
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080159
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the petitions to reopen claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and a right wrist condition due to the withdrawal of the appeals by the Veteran's attorney.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, finding no evidence that the Veteran's diabetes resulted from her active military service or was caused by her service-connected hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for persistent depressive disorder and diabetes mellitus type II, granted an increased rating of 10 percent for hypertension, and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also remanded service connection for cardiac arrhythmia.
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