Diabetes decisions — 2010

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to verify his reported periods of TDY service in Vietnam and obtain additional pay records. The issues will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left foot disability is at least partially related to his service-connected back disability and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for type II diabetes mellitus on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. Service connection for the heart condition is remanded as additional development is needed.

The Board has determined there is no legal basis for assigning a schedular rating in excess of the current 50 percent for the Veteran's service-connected headache disability. The claims for entitlement to service connection for seizures, an acquired psychiatric disability (including schizophrenia), and diabetes mellitus have been denied as well.

The Board found that the appellant did not have diabetes mellitus, type II incurred or aggravated during service and is not entitled to presumptive service connection due to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaption grant due to worsening of his conditions since his last examination in June 2006.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have service in Vietnam and was not exposed to herbicides during his active service. None of the disabilities at issue were present in service or until years thereafter, and none are etiologically related to the Veteran's active service.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, based on presumed exposure to herbicides during service in Vietnam.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for Meniere's syndrome and an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus. The Veteran was not granted service connection as his Meniere's syndrome is not related to his military service, may not be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated by a service-connected disability, and the diabetes mellitus did not require regulation of activities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease, diabetic nephropathy, diabetes mellitus, and various neuropathies of the lower extremities, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted TDIU based on these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus and peripheral vascular disease, finding no evidence of in-service onset or association with herbicide exposure. The Veteran's claims were not granted.

The Board found that the Veteran did not submit a formal or informal claim for service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder prior to June 6, 2005. As such, the effective date of his award is fixed at June 6, 2005.

The Board has remanded the case for further proceedings due to incomplete unit records and other issues.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected diabetes and posttraumatic stress disorder was denied as his disabilities do not meet the required percentage requirements, and he is likely unemployable due to nonservice-connected physical problems.

The Board found that the Veteran's Type II Diabetes Mellitus was not incurred in or aggravated by his service, may not be presumed to have been incurred in service, and is not proximately due to, the result of, or chronically aggravated by a service-connected disability, namely, his pancreatitis.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus was denied as there is no evidence of exposure to herbicides in Vietnam and the condition did not manifest within one year of separation from service.

The Board has ordered the VA to verify the Veteran's service on USS Mauna Kea in Vietnam and to process verification requests for Agent Orange herbicides through the USASCRUR. The case is now remanded for further development.

The Veteran withdrew the claim of entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus. The remaining issues of increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy with aggravated essential hypertension are addressed in the remand section.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II does not render him unemployable, and therefore his claim for total disability based on individual unemployability is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for recurrent bilateral pterygium and type II diabetes mellitus, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating at any point during the appeal period.