{"page":"https://casescribe.ai/explorer/secondary/peripheral-nerve-disorders-secondary-to-diabetes","generated_at":"2026-10-03T18:34:25.175Z","data_as_of":{"decisions":944125,"first_year":2017,"last_year":2026,"latest_decision":"2026-04-30","cfr":"2026-10-01","m21":"2026-09-29"},"about":{"publisher":"CaseScribe AI (VA Law Explorer)","source":"Public Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions (appeals of VA decisions, not VA's first decisions), M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4.","method":"Outcomes are issue-level: each condition the Board decided in a decision counts once. Decision data is extracted by AI and can contain errors. Rates describe past appeals and do not predict any claim.","disclaimer":"For research only. CaseScribe AI is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Verify figures against the source decisions and regulations.","attribution":"Cite as: VA Law Explorer, CaseScribe AI, with the page URL."},"data":{"claim":"Peripheral nerve disorders secondary to diabetes","secondary_condition":"Peripheral nerve disorders","service_connected_disability":"diabetes","decisions":3604,"years":"2017-2026","granted_pct":33.5,"denied_pct":21.7,"remanded_pct":45.4,"granted_on_merits_pct":60.7,"by_year":[{"year":2017,"issues":418,"granted_pct":25.1,"denied_pct":30.6,"remanded_pct":42.1},{"year":2018,"issues":790,"granted_pct":28.7,"denied_pct":27.2,"remanded_pct":42.8},{"year":2019,"issues":1020,"granted_pct":27.2,"denied_pct":15.5,"remanded_pct":56.2},{"year":2020,"issues":979,"granted_pct":30,"denied_pct":19.2,"remanded_pct":50.1},{"year":2021,"issues":906,"granted_pct":30.6,"denied_pct":21.6,"remanded_pct":47.1},{"year":2022,"issues":1008,"granted_pct":34.2,"denied_pct":17.9,"remanded_pct":47.3},{"year":2023,"issues":945,"granted_pct":39.4,"denied_pct":21.2,"remanded_pct":38.9},{"year":2024,"issues":818,"granted_pct":42.5,"denied_pct":16,"remanded_pct":41.2},{"year":2025,"issues":592,"granted_pct":46.1,"denied_pct":18.2,"remanded_pct":35.6},{"year":2026,"issues":192,"granted_pct":49.5,"denied_pct":25,"remanded_pct":24.5}],"benefit_of_doubt_in_grants_pct":72.4,"evidence_on_merits":[{"evidence":"va_exam_favorable","decisions_with":550,"granted_pct_with":87.4,"granted_pct_without":52.7},{"evidence":"va_exam_unfavorable","decisions_with":2273,"granted_pct_with":55.7,"granted_pct_without":70.7},{"evidence":"nexus_positive","decisions_with":713,"granted_pct_with":87.6,"granted_pct_without":49.7},{"evidence":"nexus_negative","decisions_with":1552,"granted_pct_with":53.7,"granted_pct_without":66.5},{"evidence":"private_opinion","decisions_with":1178,"granted_pct_with":68.1,"granted_pct_without":56.1},{"evidence":"treating_physician","decisions_with":303,"granted_pct_with":86.9,"granted_pct_without":57.6},{"evidence":"lay_statement","decisions_with":2770,"granted_pct_with":57.2,"granted_pct_without":76.8},{"evidence":"buddy_statement","decisions_with":160,"granted_pct_with":73,"granted_pct_without":59.9},{"evidence":"combat_service","decisions_with":286,"granted_pct_with":71.9,"granted_pct_without":59.7}],"top_reasons":{"granted":[{"reason":"caused by the service-connected disability","decisions":352},{"reason":"current diagnosis established","decisions":259},{"reason":"service connection established","decisions":156},{"reason":"secondary service connection granted","decisions":23},{"reason":"criteria for secondary service connection met","decisions":18},{"reason":"service connection for diabetes mellitus granted","decisions":18}],"denied":[{"reason":"no current diagnosis","decisions":141},{"reason":"service records negative or silent","decisions":68},{"reason":"no in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis","decisions":64},{"reason":"preponderance of the evidence against the claim","decisions":60},{"reason":"current diagnosis established","decisions":45},{"reason":"va examiner: less likely than not related to service","decisions":37}]},"recent_examples":{"granted":[{"case_id":"A26040850","year":2026,"judge":"TIMOTHY COTHREL","rationale":"38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Diabetes mellitus is now service-connected; Podiatry note: 'diabetes mellitus with neuropathy'; Endocrinology note: neuropathy as complication of diabetes"},{"case_id":"26005036","year":2026,"judge":"MARJORIE A. AUER","rationale":"Diagnosed with bilateral lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy post-service.; Recognized complication of diabetes mellitus.; Private medical opinion confirmed condition is approximately due to Type I diabetes."},{"case_id":"A26039294","year":2026,"judge":"CYNTHIA M. BRUCE","rationale":"Condition is a complication of service-connected diabetes mellitus.; Manifested or diagnosed prior to the 2004 claim.; Effective date of July 14, 2004, granted as it is the later of the claim date and when entitlement arose."}],"denied":[{"case_id":"26005112","year":2026,"judge":"MICHELLE L. KANE","rationale":"Peripheral neuropathy claimed secondary to diabetes mellitus, which was not service-connected.; Condition did not onset during service or within one year of separation.; No continuity of symptoms from service to diagnosis."},{"case_id":"A26035788","year":2026,"judge":"ARDIE A. BLAND","rationale":"Complication of diabetes mellitus; Veteran not service-connected for diabetes mellitus"},{"case_id":"26004568","year":2026,"judge":"STEVEN D. REISS","rationale":"No in-service complaints, findings, treatment, or diagnosis; Diagnosed approximately 30 years post-service; VA opinions found no nexus to service or TERA; Attributed to diabetes mellitus; No evidence of aggravation from service-connected conditions"}]},"how_argued":{"note":"From keyword matches in each issue's AI summary and rationale, not the full decision. Only issues whose text names a medical link are counted under pathways; one issue can name several. A link named in a denial was often the argument the Board rejected.","issues":7668,"aggravation_discussed":{"issues":860,"granted_pct":15.6},"causation_only":{"issues":6808,"granted_pct":36.4},"issues_naming_a_pathway_pct":0.4,"pathways":[{"pathway":"Chronic pain","issues":12,"granted_pct":91.7,"examples":[{"case_id":"23023833","year":2023,"outcome":"GRANTED","quote":"A June 2022 VA examiner opined that the neuropathy was at least as likely as not caused by diabetes mellitus and aggravated by PTSD due to increased neuropathic pain."},{"case_id":"18138917","year":2018,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"Failure to demonstrate functional impairment of earning capacity due to pain alone.."}]},{"pathway":"Altered gait or overuse","issues":11,"granted_pct":18.2,"examples":[{"case_id":"1819485","year":2018,"outcome":"GRANTED","quote":"The Board found the balance of evidence favored the Veteran, noting a factual error in a VA opinion that relied on an incorrect diabetes diagnosis date, making it less probative."},{"case_id":"A22019206","year":2022,"outcome":"DENIED","quote":"Normal strength, reflexes, gait."}]}]},"how_va_rates":null,"requirements":"38 CFR 3.310: a current diagnosis, a service-connected disability, and medical evidence that it caused (3.310(a)) or aggravated (3.310(b)) the condition."}}