Diabetes decisions — 2015

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional VA treatment records and providing an opinion regarding the Veteran's employability given his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran does not have diabetes mellitus or heart disease that is attributable to his active military service. His diagnoses are not related to service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, based on a presumption of exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from maintaining substantially gainful employment, and thus denies his claim for a TDIU.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for independent living services under Chapter 31 of Title 38, U.S.C., due to his current service-connected conditions and lack of feasibility in achieving a vocational goal.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service connection claims for various conditions, including PTSD, chronic fatigue syndrome, and undiagnosed illnesses. The case is being remanded due to the need for a Board hearing.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's peripheral vascular disease is caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II, and thus grants service connection on a secondary basis.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is being remanded due to the need to verify his exposure to herbicides in Guam and Panama. The current evidence does not support a finding of such exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and consideration due to the need for a combined effects opinion regarding his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and diabetes mellitus, have rendered him unemployable due to his mental health condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to incomplete development and the need for a comprehensive examination by a board certified rheumatologist.

The Board has remanded the case for further consideration due to issues regarding the Veteran's employability based on his service-connected disabilities. The appeal is now with the AOJ.

The Board found that the reduction of the Veteran's disability rating for his service-connected diabetes mellitus from 40 percent to 20 percent, effective December 1, 2009, was improper and restored the original 40 percent evaluation.

The Veteran's initial rating for diabetes mellitus prior to February 4, 2014 was denied. The effective dates for service connection of peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities associated with diabetes mellitus were also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused or substantially contributed to by a service-connected disability. The evidence did not establish any connection between his death and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities have been denied as there is no competent credible evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to incomplete records and the need for further development regarding his Vietnam service.

The Veteran's service connection claim for diabetes mellitus, Type II is granted as it meets the criteria for presumptive exposure to herbicides during active duty in Thailand and Vietnam.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of his diabetes mellitus and related heart, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction disabilities. The claims for secondary service connection will also be addressed.