The Board remands the claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, right hand neuropathy, and left hand neuropathy due to a need for additional evidence.
The deciding factor: The December 2021 VA examination was found inadequate as it failed to consider all of the evidence in the record, specifically the Veteran's high level of glucose which can be an indicator of DM. Additionally, the Board must remand entitlement to service connection for bilateral hand neuropathy as it is inexplicably intertwined with the Veteran's entitlement to service connection for DM.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus (DM), right hand neuropathy, left hand neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25030384
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 A25030384.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and the related neuropathies of the hands and legs. The Veteran's current diagnoses are attributed to his non-service-related diabetes.
- Granted
The Veteran's heart conditions, including CAD, MI, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, supraventricular arrhythmia, and CABG are granted as presumed due to herbicide exposure. DM is also granted. Peripheral neuropathy of the LLE, RLE, LUE, and RUE is granted secondary to DM.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus (DM), and migraine headaches are all granted as service-connected. The hypertension is considered direct service connection due to the preexisting condition not being aggravated by service. Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) is found to have started during service based on post-service medical records showing progression from impaired fasting glucose to a confirmed diagnosis of DM II. Migraine headaches are also granted as they were first diagnosed during active military service and linked to in-service noise exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, psychiatric disability, GERD, DM, CAD, and ED have been granted with effective dates ranging from July 29, 2022 to September 8, 2021. The claim for service connection for OSA was denied.
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