The Veteran's claims for service connection for CAD, diabetes mellitus, left eye macular degeneration, right eye macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy are granted due to the PACT Act presumption of herbicide exposure.,The Veteran has a current diagnosis of each condition and was exposed to herbicides during his service on Guam.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's CAD is presumed due to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act, as he served in Guam during the relevant time period. The other conditions are also granted based on their presumptive relationship with herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Left eye macular degeneration, Right eye macular degeneration, Diabetic retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2023
- Citation
- 23024557
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 23024557.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance from June 1, 2011, to May 24, 2017, finding that his need for regular aid and attendance was not established during this period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's current coronary artery disease with acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction with coronary stent is being remanded for further evaluation due to the lack of a medical nexus between his service-connected hypertension and his heart condition.
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