The Board granted an effective date of March 31, 2014 for the award of service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy, but denied an earlier effective date for tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's initial claim was received on March 31, 2014, and he submitted a new claim in March 2020. The BWN Act allowed the effective date to be based on the date of the initial claim for diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, 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
- June 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25053562
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that the conditions are related to Agent Orange exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for type II diabetes mellitus to address a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA not requesting private treatment records.
- Partly granted
The appeal was granted for service connection for latent tuberculosis and dermatitis of the face, while other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis, small bowel obstruction, to include small bowel perforation, status post left hemicolectomy, Hartman's pouch and ileostomy (bowel condition), as well as right and left upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.
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