The Veteran's prostate cancer and diabetes are granted service connection due to presumed exposure to herbicides in the Korean DMZ. Service connection for erectile dysfunction is also granted as secondary to his service-connected prostate cancer. However, asthma cannot be linked to herbicide exposure and thus denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on presumptive exposure to herbicides in the Korean DMZ due to the Veteran's current diagnoses of prostate cancer and diabetes, which are enumerated diseases associated with such exposure. Erectile dysfunction is service-connected as secondary to his service-connected prostate cancer. Asthma was not linked to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus, type II, erectile dysfunction, asthma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2024
- Citation
- A24084385
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 A24084385.
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 Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
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