Diabetes decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, traumatic brain injury, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension have been dismissed. A 50% rating has been granted for migraine headaches.

Service connection is denied for thrombocytopenia. The Veteran's exposure to jet fuel, Houghton hydraulic fluids, trichloroethylene, graphic grease, zinc chromate, JP4 or JP5, graphic grease, jet exhaust, air-borne steam vapors, and fog foam in service has not been established as a cause of the condition.,Service connection is remanded for coronary artery disease due to Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran's claim cannot be substantiated based on his reported exposure during service aboard USS Enterprise off the coast of Vietnam.,Service connection is remanded for diabetes mellitus due to Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran's claim cannot be substantiated based on his reported exposure during service aboard USS Enterprise off the coast of Vietnam.

The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of type II diabetes mellitus, bilateral macular edema, coronary artery disease, and kidney cancer due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher evaluations under the applicable rating schedule.

The petition to reopen the previously denied claims for atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, and skin disorder (previously claimed as hives due to an allergic reaction to penicillin) is granted.,However, the service connection for these conditions remains pending and will be remanded for further development.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II does not require regulation of activities and therefore is rated at the minimum level (20%) throughout the appeal period.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure to herbicide agents in Korea, specifically from February 1970 to March 1971. The VA needs to attempt to verify this exposure and provide a formal finding if it cannot be verified.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes, bilateral flat feet, a back disability, and allergic rhinitis should be remanded due to outstanding records not being associated with the claims file.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted the petition to reopen the claim for hepatitis C and denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, and peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and body and hand tremors due to concerns about the qualifications of the examiners who provided a VHA opinion in September 2017. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional information regarding the nurse practitioners' credentials and schedule the Veteran for VA examinations by an endocrinologist and a neurologist.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of service connection for lung problems (claimed as emphysema) is granted. The claims for peripheral neuropathy and diabetes mellitus type II are remanded due to the need to verify Agent Orange exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, diabetes mellitus, bilateral hearing loss, and nonobstructive coronary artery disease, have prevented him from securing and maintaining gainful employment since February 1, 2013. The Board has granted a TDIU rating for this period.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the need for additional development and medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, vision loss as secondary to diabetes mellitus, headaches as secondary to diabetes mellitus, a back disability, neck disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, left wrist disability, right wrist disability, and right knee disability. The reasons given were that there was no evidence of onset during qualifying service or any related disease or injury in service.,The Board also denied service connection for these conditions based on secondary service connection to diabetes mellitus, which was previously denied.

The Veteran's service connection for diabetic sensory neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities has been granted with an effective date of February 19, 2014.,Service connection for a sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea, is denied.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and is not related to his service-connected PTSD.,The Veteran's pes planus of the right foot existed pre-service and did not become worse during service.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II was rated at 20 percent prior to July 27, 2015. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of regulation of activities due to his diabetes mellitus type II, and thus denied an increased rating.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted effective from August 14, 2018, as he has been unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities since at least December 2008.