Diabetes decisions — 2016

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities are found to have caused his adjustment disorder with depressed mood.,Diabetes mellitus, type II is not shown to be related to service or any incident therein.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is presumed due to in-service herbicide exposure and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II is granted on a presumptive basis due to presumed herbicide exposure during active service in the Republic of Vietnam.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus, type II, cannot be granted as his claimed exposure to herbicides in service is not supported by credible evidence. As a result, these claims are denied.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of diabetes mellitus II was denied as the May 2008 rating decision denying service connection is final and there is no clear evidence to rebut the presumption that proper notice was sent. The earliest effective date that can be assigned is April 7, 2010.

The Board has granted service connection for erectile dysfunction as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II. The other issues on appeal are addressed in the remand portion of this decision.

The Veteran's claim for non-service-connected pension benefits was denied because he did not have the requisite wartime service to establish basic eligibility.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is rated at 20 percent and his hypertension is currently noncompensable. The Board denied both claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, arteriosclerotic heart disease, and peripheral neuropathies are denied as the evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional VA treatment records and Social Security Administration (SSA) decision documents.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to May 24, 2013.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, bilateral feet peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral vision loss as well as his claim for residuals of a right lower leg amputation. The appeals were all denied due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has ordered a remand to determine if the Veteran's BPH is proximately due or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and to obtain an opinion on this issue.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to the Board making a decision.

The Veteran's hypertension is being remanded for additional development to determine if it is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Board finds that the Veteran set foot in the Republic of Vietnam during the critical time period for herbicide exposure, and thus is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides coincident to such service. The Veteran's VA treatment records demonstrate a current diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, which is one of the diseases recognized for service connection due to herbicide exposure. Therefore, the Board grants service connection for diabetes mellitus on a presumptive basis.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's conditions as secondary to his service-connected hemoglobin sickle cell disease, but did not assign a specific effective date due to lack of evidence prior to November 16, 2005.

The Board has determined that further development is needed before the claims for service connection can be decided.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's type II diabetes mellitus was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in such service.