The Veteran's service connection claim for DM II is granted due to exposure to herbicide agents during his service in the Republic of Korea. The Board finds that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents and grants service connection on a presumptive basis under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). Service connection for left knee condition is remanded due to inadequate VA examination, while right knee condition is granted as secondary to left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's DM II was found to be related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure and the Board applied the presumptive service connection criteria under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). The remanded issues of left and right knee conditions are pending further examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus Type II (DM II), Left Knee Condition, Right Knee Condition, Status Post Total Knee Replacement
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23020761
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 23020761.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee conditions, finding that the Veteran's current knee conditions are more likely than not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right and left knee conditions, finding that they are related to his active service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for pre-existing left and right knee conditions, finding that these conditions were aggravated by military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee, left knee, right ankle, and left ankle conditions as secondary to his service-connected left hip replacement.
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