The Veteran's appeals for higher initial ratings and earlier effective dates were denied. The diabetes was rated at the minimum level, with no need for insulin or restricted activities. The lower extremity neuropathies met the criteria for a 20 percent rating but not higher. The upper extremity neuropathies also met the criteria for a 30-40 percent rating but not higher. The cardiac disability was rated at the minimum level, with no need for insulin or restricted activities.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for any higher ratings based on the severity of the disabilities and their impact on daily life.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus, type II, Left lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, femoral nerve, Right lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, femoral nerve, Left upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, Right upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, Cardiac disability (coronary artery disease status post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG))
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24065998
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 A24065998.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU and DEA claims are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors prior to the rating decision on review. The effective date for TDIU is set at January 31, 2021, based on the last day of employment. However, the RO needs to obtain SSA records regarding earnings from July 2020 to January 31, 2021, to determine if the Veteran's employment was marginal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding the lack of development related to Agent Orange exposure and solvent/asbestos exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of August 10, 2022 for hypertension and July 25, 2023 for diabetes mellitus, type II, bilateral lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a bilateral hearing loss disability, and tinnitus.,The Veteran's conditions were found to have manifested no later than the dates specified in their respective effective dates.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that the Appellant's claim was not properly reopened and that the earliest available effective date is June 14, 2021.
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