The Veteran's type II diabetes mellitus, bilateral upper and lower neuropathy, chronic kidney disease, macular edema, retinopathy, and hypertension are all granted as secondary to his service-connected diabetes disability. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during service.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding of herbicide agent exposure during service, which has been conceded for purposes of presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, right upper extremity diabetic neuropathy, left upper extremity diabetic neuropathy, right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy with chronic kidney disease, macular edema, retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 23, 2021
- Citation
- A21020465
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 A21020465.
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 a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.,Given the grant of TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as total (PTSD) and additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all appeals regarding his service-connected conditions and related disability ratings, effective as of March 16, 2026.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal. The issues concerning effective dates and disability ratings are not addressed as they were not decided.
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