The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that it is not related to active service and was not caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The VA clinician opined that the Veteran's in-service exposure to an herbicide agent did not cause his neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities due to its appearance more than 30 years after service, and that his neuropathy is secondary to tobacco use disorder rather than a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21063137
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.
- Partly granted
The appeal was denied for service connection of a right ear hearing loss disability, and several other claims were remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hip disorder, right knee disorder, tremors of the bilateral upper extremities, neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, and chronic joint pain as they were not shown in service or for many years thereafter and are not otherwise etiologically related to active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of various disabilities, including left knee, right shoulder, spine, cervical myelopathy, and neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, as secondary to the service-connected right knee disability. The claims are being returned for further development.
- Partly granted
The veteran's left ear hearing loss disability was determined to be related to an injury from a mine explosion in service, while other conditions were denied service connection.
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