The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are all granted due to exposure to herbicide agents in Guam. The PACT Act provides a presumption of service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in Guam during the Vietnam era, which is considered presumptive service connection under the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2024
- Citation
- 24004672
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,113 · Granted: 47% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24004672.
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 service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
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