The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is granted. The Board also finds that the Veteran has a diagnosed BUE condition, to include peripheral and idiopathic neuropathy, that may be related to his period of service, including as due to herbicide exposure. However, further examination is needed to determine if this relationship exists.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no competent medical evidence to contradict the February 2022 private nexus opinion letters which determined the most likely etiology for the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy was in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral lower extremity (BLE) peripheral neuropathy, Bilateral upper extremity (BUE) peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2022
- Citation
- A22020774
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 A22020774.
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 case for further development to determine if the Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is caused by or a result of his February 2013 right shoulder surgery, and whether it was reasonably foreseeable as an ordinary risk of the treatment.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that it did not have its onset during active service or within a year of separation. The claim was also denied on a presumptive basis due to herbicide agent exposure as early-onset peripheral neuropathy is not listed among the diseases associated with such exposure.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that it is not related to active service and does not meet the criteria for secondary service connection due to a service-connected condition.
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