Diabetes decisions — 2024

The Board has granted the reopening of the Veteran's claim for service connection for left knee arthritis and has also granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type 2 and obstructive sleep apnea, all secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.

The appeal of the issue of service connection for diabetes mellitus type II is dismissed. The Veteran's back condition is granted as etiologically related to service.

The Veteran's claims for right ear hearing loss, diabetes mellitus II, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability have been denied as there is no persuasive evidence of a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for allergic rhinitis/sinusitis has been denied as there is no persuasive evidence of a current disability.,The Veteran's claims for hypertension and sleep apnea have been denied as there is no persuasive evidence of a current disability.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes as secondary to his service-connected PTSD, with obesity serving as an intermediate step.

The Veteran's appeal includes multiple issues related to service connection for various conditions, with some issues being remanded and others having their decisions left pending further development.,No effective date earlier than May 25, 2021 was granted for the adjustment disorder with anxiety.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal concerning the issue of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II.

The Board found that new evidence did not support reopening the claims for ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus, type II due to Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran's previous claim of bladder cancer service connection was later determined to be in error.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his service-connected left and right lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy were dismissed. The Board also granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that it was shown as chronic during service.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as the appellant is not eligible to direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the April 2022 rating decision due to lack of a valid direct pay fee agreement covering the issues that were granted.

The Board has denied service connection for various conditions, including chronic blood infection, lumbar spine disability, diabetes mellitus type II (diabetes), hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, prostate cancer, right knee disability, and right foot disability. The claims are not supported by the evidence of record.

The Veteran's claims for increased initial ratings for diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, and hypothyroidism are being remanded due to the failure of VA to attempt to resolve known impediments to scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and peripheral neuropathy in the Veteran's upper and lower extremities under the PACT Act, which grants presumptive service connection based on exposure to herbicide agents during active duty.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's OSA is secondary to his service-connected diabetes. The VA needs to provide an adequate opinion on both direct and secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes and bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to an error in providing notice of the right to a hearing before the RO.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions were denied.,No specific reasons or bases are provided in the decision summary.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the grant of TDIU and DEA. The Board has remanded these claims due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU was initially granted with an effective date of June 27, 2023, but later amended to September 9, 2021. He is now seeking earlier consideration on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability aggravates his diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied service connection for lymphadenitis, sleep apnea, Barrett's esophagus, tinea corporis, seizures disorder, neuropathy and neuromyelitis, and type II diabetes mellitus due to lack of evidence showing an in-service event or disease.,The Veteran did not provide sufficient evidence to support his assertions that these conditions were related to service, including exposure to radiation or heavy lifting.

The Veteran's hypertension and diabetes mellitus, type II are granted as service connected due to exposure to herbicides in Thailand under the PACT Act.

The Veteran's ambulance transportation on April 5, 2020 was for an acute UTI and met the prudent layperson definition of a medical emergency. The VA facility was not feasibly available, and the Veteran did not have other health insurance to cover the ambulance transportation. Therefore, payment or reimbursement is granted.