Diabetes decisions — 2008

The veteran's service is not qualifying for VA pension benefits, and the appellant did not file a claim for accrued benefits within one year of his death. The claims are denied.

The Board found no evidence of any service connection for the claimed conditions.

The Board has denied all service connection claims for the veteran's claimed disabilities, finding no evidence of a causal relationship between any current disability and his active service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, arthritis, tinnitus, hearing loss, and diabetes mellitus due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions had their onset during or are otherwise related to his active service.

The veteran's appeal is about whether his disability rating for diabetes mellitus should be increased from 60 percent to a higher level, and if the reduction from 60 percent to 20 percent was proper. The case has been remanded due to inadequate VCAA notice.

The veteran's claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities is remanded for further development, including a VA examination and consideration of the evidence.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and pulmonary tuberculosis as the evidence did not show these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, type II diabetes mellitus, and eye disability. The Board found that there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and service or any service-connected disabilities.

The veteran seeks service connection for hypertension, which he claims is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The VA examination found that the hypertension was less likely than not caused by or aggravated by the diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for coronary artery disease and erectile dysfunction, as well as his claim for service connection for hypertension. The veteran was granted a noncompensable rating for erectile dysfunction due to his diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's cause of death due to pancreatic cancer, lung cancer (presumed from Agent Orange exposure), and diabetes. The Board found that these conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current diabetes mellitus, type II, did not manifest until many years after service and is not shown by the medical evidence of record to be related to his active duty service or causally related to or otherwise aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for diabetes mellitus, type II was denied.,The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of diabetes mellitus, type II was also denied.

The veteran's diabetes mellitus with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy was rated at 20 percent prior to February 25, 2004 and increased to 40 percent effective April 14, 2007.

The veteran's increased rating claims for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, as well as erectile dysfunction, have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of these issues from appeal.

The Board found that the veteran's hypertension did not begin in service and was not caused by or permanently worsened by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The veteran's claim for a higher rating for diabetes mellitus prior to October 2, 2007 was denied. From October 2, 2007 onwards, the claim for a higher rating was also denied. The TDIU claim was denied as well.

The veteran's diabetes mellitus was rated at 10 percent prior to May 26, 2006 and increased to 20 percent from that date.,The current evaluations for the veteran's diabetes mellitus do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of infectious hepatitis and diabetes mellitus, with the latter being due to lack of current evidence of a disability. The veteran's contentions were not supported by medical evidence.

The Board denied the appellant's application to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to lack of new and material evidence.