Vietnam veterans and Parkinson's disease: a claim map

The claim map

A claim map follows one veteran's route: where they served, the condition the law presumes for that service, and the conditions that follow from it. Each box shows how the Board ruled at that step. Few Vietnam veterans had a secondary claim decided with the Parkinson's disease, so the second step counts all veterans who claimed a condition secondary to Parkinson's disease.

Where they served

Vietnam

Service in the Republic of Vietnam or its offshore waters, January 1962 to May 1975

58,055 Board decisions that name Vietnam

presumed by law38 CFR 3.309(e)

Step 1 · presumed by law

Parkinson's disease

43.0% granted

243 of 565 veterans · all Parkinson's disease claims 38.3%

secondary38 CFR 3.310(a)

Step 2 · claimed secondary to Parkinson's disease (all veterans)

• Nerve damage, legs DC 8520

  30.4% · 7 of 23

• Sleep apnea DC 6847

  26.1% · 6 of 23

• Dementia or other neurocognitive disorder DC 9310

  52.4% · 11 of 21

• Depression DC 9434

  58.8% · 10 of 17

• Hypertension DC 7101

  18.8% · 3 of 16

• Bladder condition DC 7542

  60.0% · 9 of 15

  → loss of use may open special monthly compensation

Step 1 bars: share granted in Board decisions that name Vietnam; the red mark is all veterans. Step 2 bars: all veterans who claimed the condition secondary to Parkinson's disease. One count per veteran; a remand counts as not granted. Conditions with at least 15 veterans.

Is Parkinson's disease presumptive for Vietnam veterans?

Yes. Parkinson's disease is on the herbicide list in 38 CFR 3.309(e), and VA presumes it is related to herbicide exposure in the Republic of Vietnam, including its offshore waters, when it appears at any time after service (38 CFR 3.307(a)(6); M21-1 V.iii.12.C.3). Parkinsonism, the related movement disorders, has been presumed the same way since January 2021. In decisions that name Vietnam, the Board granted 43.0% of Parkinson's disease claims (243 of 565), against 38.3% for all veterans.

58,055 Board decisions from 2020 to 2025 name Vietnam or a place there; this page counts the claims rated under DC 8004, Parkinson's disease.

Decisions that name VietnamAll veterans

2020

46.7%

36.9%

2021

48.9%

35.4%

2022

43.5%

41.2%

2023

41.2%

41.0%

2024

38.8%

36.8%

2025

38.5%

37.4%

Share of decided claims granted; a remand counts as not granted. One count per veteran. Service-connection claims only (DC 8004).

In 2020 decisions, the Board granted 46.7% of these claims, against 36.9% for all veterans. In 2025 it was 38.5%, against 37.4%. The data does not show why the gap closed. Vietnam is not the only route to the presumption: Thai air base, Korean DMZ and Camp Lejeune service also lead to it.

Why are Vietnam veterans' Parkinson's claims denied?

On the medical link, the diagnosis and the service, often more than one at once. For 117 denials, the Board's note named a medical link in 58.1% of them, the diagnosis in 51.3%, for example when an examiner found tremors from another cause or no Parkinson's at all, and the exposure or the service in 47.0%.

How does VA rate Parkinson's disease?

Under DC 8004 in 38 CFR 4.124a, which sets a minimum rating once the diagnosis is confirmed. VA can rate a disease like Parkinson's under its own code or by separate ratings for each of its effects, whichever pays more (M21-1 VIII.iv.4.A). Raters are told to consider special monthly compensation, especially for loss of use of a limb and the need for aid and attendance (M21-1 V.iii.12.C.3).

The second step: conditions that follow Parkinson's disease

What conditions are claimed secondary to Parkinson's disease?

Across all veterans, dementia or another neurocognitive disorder was granted for 11 of 21 (52.4%), depression for 10 of 17 (58.8%) and bladder conditions for 9 of 15 (60.0%). Nerve damage in the legs (30.4%), sleep apnea (26.1%) and hypertension (18.8%) did worse.

Claimed secondary to Parkinson's disease (all veterans)	Granted	Veterans	Share
Nerve damage, legs	7	23	30.4%
Sleep apnea	6	23	26.1%
Dementia or other neurocognitive disorder	11	21	52.4%
Depression	10	17	58.8%
Hypertension	3	16	18.8%
Bladder condition	9	15	60.0%

The numbers are small. VA can rate the effects of Parkinson's disease as part of the Parkinson's grant, so not every effect becomes a separate secondary claim.

Does the Parkinson's disease have to be granted first?

In practice, yes. Among Vietnam decisions that ruled on both, the Board granted 28 of 34 secondary claims when it granted the Parkinson's disease, and 0 of 14 when it did not.

Where the Parkinson's disease was not on appeal, usually because it was already service connected, 23.5% of the secondary claims were granted. Those claims stood on a medical opinion about the link, not on the presumption.

Read the decisions

Recent decisions, with the Board's reasoning as summarized by AI and checked against the decision text:

• A25108005, December 2025: Parkinson's disease, diabetes and coronary artery disease granted for a Navy veteran whose squadron was credited with service in the Republic of Vietnam in 1968; the Board resolved reasonable doubt in the veteran's favor.
• A25091368, October 2025: Parkinson's disease granted for a Navy veteran aboard the USS Midway; hostile fire pay records and the benefit of the doubt led the Board to find service in Vietnam.
• A25107868, December 2025: Parkinson's disease granted; the deck logs of the USS Coral Sea put the evidence of herbicide exposure in relative equipoise.
• A25073886, September 2025: Parkinson's disease denied for a Navy veteran whose service in the offshore waters of Vietnam was confirmed and herbicide exposure conceded; the treatment records held no diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or parkinsonism.
• A25105999, December 2025: depression and anxiety, and a back condition, granted as aggravated by Parkinson's disease, on a private medical opinion. This veteran's Parkinson's disease was granted for Camp Lejeune water, not Vietnam; the second step counts all veterans.

What the data cannot tell you

The Vietnam group comes from the places each decision names. Decisions that name Vietnam only in a quote of the law, or in a finding that the veteran was not there, are left out; that check is automatic and misses some, so a few decisions about veterans who were not in Vietnam remain. A mention is not proof of qualifying service. Service-connection claims only; rating appeals are left out. The second step counts all veterans, not only Vietnam veterans, and only claims the Board marked as secondary to Parkinson's disease. Denial notes are AI-extracted. These are historical outcomes, not predictions.

For representatives

• Settle the service first: land service, or a ship in qualifying waters, with deck logs, unit records and the veteran's statements.
• Get a neurologist's diagnosis that addresses the core signs, such as slowness of movement; in denials here, examiners found tremors from another cause or no Parkinson's at all.
• After the grant, screen for depression, memory problems, bladder problems and swallowing or speech problems, and ask for separate ratings where they pay more.
• Consider special monthly compensation for loss of use and for aid and attendance as the disease progresses.