Diabetes decisions — 2020

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of low back disability, asthma, neck disability, eye disability (including amblyopia, blurred vision, and vision loss), diabetes, acquired psychiatric disorder (to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, personality disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)), and left ankle disability have been remanded. The appeals for service connection on the issues of chest disability, residuals of a head injury, and sleep disorder were dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.

The Veteran's claim for PTSD with memory loss is granted. The claims for diabetes mellitus II, left and right lower peripheral neuropathy, sleep apnea syndromes, hypertension, COPD, and GERD are denied.

The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and diabetes mellitus secondary to service-connected PTSD due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Board has granted service connection for erectile dysfunction as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes. The TDIU rating is also granted based on the severity of his multiple service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, right knee or right leg disability, diabetes mellitus as due to herbicide exposure, diabetic neuropathy of the right upper and lower extremities, stroke, and erectile dysfunction are all remanded.,Specifically, the Board finds that there is a need to verify the Veteran’s reported service on a base in the Republic of Vietnam during his period of temporary duty (TDY) from March 24, 1967, to May 13, 1967.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including panic attacks, as there was no evidence of such condition during or after service and it is not related to service.,Service connection for type II diabetes was also denied due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents in Okinawa, Japan.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II was dismissed because the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is dismissed as moot since he had a combined 100% schedular rating for his service-connected disabilities from July 2009 onwards, but not with one rated as totally disabling.

The Veteran's right eye disorder is granted service connection. The left eye, heart and diabetes mellitus claims are remanded for additional development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board finds that he is still capable of sedentary work.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine when the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to work, and to address any potential impact on his TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of records from medical providers, including those who diagnosed diabetes before the Veteran's actual diagnosis.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, retinopathy secondary to diabetes mellitus type II, and peripheral neuropathy of bilateral upper extremities secondary to diabetes mellitus type II.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetic nephropathy with hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss, do not render him unemployable due to his significant past work experience as a police officer.

The Board dismissed the appeal because the claim for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus was granted by the RO in a September 2020 rating decision, rendering the issue moot.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient explanation in the previous VA examination regarding whether the Veteran's diabetes mellitus is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, particularly chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

The appeal of COPD service connection is dismissed. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, is denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's causes of death are at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected residuals of bilateral trench foot.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease, bilateral elbow disability, hip disability, knee disability, shoulder disability, ankle disability, erythema nodosum, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and a bilateral arm disability has been denied.,Service connection was not granted as the evidence does not establish that any of these conditions began during service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.