The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, bilateral upper extremities neuropathy, and left lower extremity neuropathy due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.,The Board has also reopened the claim for automobile and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only.
The deciding factor: The new evidence presented relates to unestablished facts that raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims, including herbicide exposure in Panama Canal Zone which may relate to diabetes mellitus and neuropathy conditions.,The new evidence submitted by the Veteran relates to unestablished facts and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for automobile and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, bilateral upper extremities neuropathy, left lower extremity neuropathy, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080803
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 20080803.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
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