The Board has granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy disabilities, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found it unlikely that the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy was related to service or incurred during service due to lack of diagnosis in the service treatment records. However, the Board gave high probative weight to the Veteran's lay statements and VA medical records which supported a finding of nexus between his symptoms and presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23064224
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 23064224.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's death, as veterans' claims do not survive their deaths.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to a lack of sufficient medical opinion regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy before a decision was made.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, right lower extremity and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II. The decision is based on presumptive exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand during the Vietnam Era.
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