Diabetes decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions are not related to service and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The veteran's cause of death was due to coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic vascular disease, with schizophrenia contributing materially. The Board found that the service-connected schizophrenia interfered with treatment for his underlying disabilities and contributed to his death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's diabetes mellitus is related to his service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, finding that the veteran's conditions are due to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.

The veteran's hyperbaric treatment was rendered in a medical emergency due to the imminent risk of amputation, and VA facilities were not feasibly available or reasonable to use beforehand.

The Board has granted a higher evaluation of 40 percent for service-connected diabetes mellitus and maintained the current 50 percent rating for service-connected erythema multiforme.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, as the August 1979 RO decision is final.

The Board found that the April 1993 rating decision denying service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is final. The RO granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death on September 10, 2000, with an effective date of September 10, 2000.

The Board found that the VA bilateral varicose vein stripping and ligation in 1950 did not cause or play a significant factor in the veteran's bilateral below-the-knee amputations, which were more likely due to nonservice-connected diabetes.

The veteran's diabetes mellitus requires multiple daily insulin injections, dietary restrictions, and regulation of activities. Despite these measures, the disability picture presented more closely approximates the criteria for a 60 percent rating than for a 40 percent rating. Consequently, a 60 percent rating is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding no evidence to support the requested evaluations or connections.

The veteran's death was not caused by VA medical treatment, and the conditions leading to his death were present before admission. The Board denied DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The veteran's motion for revision of the May 8, 1985 Board decision on grounds of clear and unmistakable error as to his claim of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus is dismissed without prejudice.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused or contributed to by his service-connected conditions, and thus denied service connection for cause of death.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus on the basis of presumptive exposure to herbicides, but denied reopening of the claim for periodontal disease. Service connection for diabetes mellitus is granted.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has determined that hypertension and diabetes mellitus were not incurred or aggravated during active military service, and may not be presumed to have been incurred therein.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus due to new evidence submitted by the veteran, which suggests that symptoms of diabetes mellitus manifested within one year of service separation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right hip disability, PTSD, and a rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain with arthritis. The decision also noted that new evidence did not meet the criteria to reopen these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension and diabetes mellitus are secondary to his service-connected acute myelogenous leukemia.