Diabetes decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the issues regarding service connection for a liver disorder and entitlement to special monthly compensation on the basis of the need for regular aid and attendance.

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including service connection claims and evaluations for various disabilities. The Veteran's claim for type II diabetes mellitus due to herbicide exposure was denied as there is no evidence of its onset in service or within one year thereafter. Other disability claims are also pending.

The Board has granted service connection for hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus type 2, finding that the conditions are likely to have occurred during active duty training.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus his claim for TDIU was denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a separate and compensable disability rating for his bilateral diabetic retinopathy, pseudophakia of the right eye, and cataract of the left eye prior to March 24, 2022, as well as for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent from that date. The remand is due to incomplete opinions regarding the etiology of his visual field defects.

The Veteran's service connection claim for diabetes mellitus is granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand during his active duty.

The Board has found that the VA examinations and opinions provided were not in substantial compliance with the prior remand directives, particularly regarding the Veteran's PTSD. The case is being returned for further development.

The Board denied service connection for prostate cancer and type II diabetes mellitus, both claimed as due to exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran's claims were remanded for further development regarding a kidney disability.

The Board has remanded the cases due to the need for further verification of the Veteran's claimed in-service herbicide agent exposure, specifically regarding his assertion that he was exposed while traveling on a C-130 aircraft from Fort Campbell to Detroit, Michigan, in approximately July 1967.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to uncertainty regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents while serving on the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). The logbooks show at least one mark indicating landfall in Vietnam, but it is unclear whether this indicates within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam or along the rivers of Vietnam.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus is not service connected as secondary to his service-connected kidney stones. The polycythemia vera claim, which includes a contention of radiation exposure during service, is remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient information regarding the Veteran's exposure to commercial herbicides and whether his diabetes is related to this exposure.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for additional development and examination, but does not address whether service connection is warranted.

The petition to reopen a previously denied claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus is denied. Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a stroke and multiple sclerosis is denied. The issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder remains pending and remanded.

The Veteran's service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and its associated neuropathies of the extremities is granted due to exposure to herbicide agents during military service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II before the Board could make a decision.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II (DM) with erectile dysfunction and hypertension is remanded due to the need for additional examinations. An effective date of May 14, 2008, but no earlier, has been granted for the award of service connection for DM.

The Board has dismissed all claims for service connection due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has found that there is not substantial compliance with the prior remand instructions and thus, the case must be returned to the AOJ for further development.