The Board granted service connection for GERD, left and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, emphysema, and COPD.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least approximately balanced as to whether the Veteran's conditions were related to in-service toxic exposure or secondary to service-connected PTSD, so the Board resolved doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25106680
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 869 · Granted: 44% (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 A25106680.
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 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 various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for right foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is granted with an effective date of July 25, 2023.,The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for left foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is dismissed as it does not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date.
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