Diabetes decisions — 2006

The Board determined that the veteran's cause of death was not caused by his active service, any presumptive period, or a service-connected disorder. Therefore, he is denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.

The Board found that the veteran's service in Vietnam was not established, leading to a clear and unmistakable error in granting presumptive service connection for his disabilities. The severance of these conditions is upheld.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his military service and have denied all of his claims.

The Board found that the appellant does not meet the criteria for special monthly pension based on need for regular aid and attendance or being housebound due to her disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and higher initial evaluations for coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, finding that these conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and consideration of his eligibility for vocational rehabilitation benefits, including the evaluation of his diabetes mellitus.

The Board has determined that the appellant needs assistance in completing basic daily living activities and grants her special monthly pension based on this need.

The veteran's death was not service-connected, and the appellant is not entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for diabetes mellitus effective October 3, 2005. Prior to that date, the disability was rated as 20 percent disabling.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of diabetes mellitus, type II and clinical diabetic peripheral neuropathy of both the right and left legs are being remanded due to a need to obtain his Social Security Administration (SSA) records.

The Board has determined that the veteran's diabetes mellitus was not incurred or aggravated by service, including herbicide exposure. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining more specific information about the veteran's activities in Vietnam and scheduling a comprehensive psychiatric examination to determine if PTSD is service-connected. The VA also needs to schedule an evaluation of the veteran's diabetes mellitus.

The Board finds that the veteran does not require aid and attendance of another person due to his disabilities, including diabetic retinopathy which resulted in blindness in one eye. Therefore, he is denied special monthly pension based on need for aid and attendance.

The Board found that an earlier effective date for the award of non-service-connected disability pension is not warranted, as there was no prior informal or formal claim received by VA prior to November 13, 2001.

The Board found that the veteran did not have type II diabetes mellitus or hypertension due to service, and denied these claims. The claim for erectile dysfunction was also denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection of his stroke as secondary to diabetes and an earlier effective date for erectile dysfunction, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy of the lower extremities, and peripheral neuropathy. The Board found that the August 1973 rating decision reducing the skin disorder was not CUE, and denied both the secondary service connection claim and the earlier effective date claims.

The veteran's diabetes mellitus is presumed to have been incurred during active service due to exposure to Agent Orange.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, including his heart disorder.

The Board has granted a higher rating of 30 percent for the veteran's residuals of acne, effective from the date of the initial decision. The claim for an increased rating for diabetes mellitus remains pending.

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