Diabetes decisions — 2020

The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and depression, was granted. The claims for heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were remanded.

The Board has dismissed all service connection claims as the Veteran died during the appeal process.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the existence and etiology of any current diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and a heart disorder, as these claims are related to herbicide exposure during service.

The Board has remanded the cases for obtaining missing VA treatment records, specifically those scanned into a VA hospital's imaging system.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on several conditions have been dismissed. The claims of reopening a psychiatric disorder and hypertension have been remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for low back condition, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension due to inadequate medical opinions and lack of evidence regarding exposure to herbicides. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions and their relationship to service.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, type II. The decision finds that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his in-service symptoms and exposure.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction have been granted. The Board found that the Veteran was presumed to be exposed to herbicide agents during his Vietnam Era service aboard the USS Rainier in the territorial waters of Vietnam.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral eye diabetic retinopathy, finding no current diagnosis of the condition and concluding that it is less likely than not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, erectile dysfunction, and neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremity as they are not related to service.,There is no evidence of herbicide exposure in Thailand or Vietnam that would support presumptive service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, finding that there was no actual exposure to herbicide agents during his service and concluding that diabetes mellitus is not related to service.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus was rated at 60 percent from October 2, 2011 to March 25, 2012. Prior to June 11, 2019, the rating for diabetes mellitus remained at 60 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to perform activities of daily living without assistance, including bathing and dressing. The Board finds that he is in need of regular aid and attendance.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities, finding that they do not preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and a neurologic disability (claimed as neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy), finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new evidence of diabetes mellitus and its effects on peripheral neuropathy in various extremities, as well as skin conditions. The Veteran's current diagnoses need to be evaluated for their relation to his service-connected diabetes.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected diabetes and TIA would reasonably have precluded him from maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to April 29, 2010.

The Veteran's headaches are service-connected due to an undiagnosed illness during his Southwest Asia service. However, the Veteran's pulmonary disability (asthma), sleep apnea, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus type II are not service-connected.