Diabetes Board decisions

The Board has granted an effective date of May 4, 2001 for the grant of service connection for diabetes mellitus type II.

The Board has remanded the case for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, due to herbicide exposure. The Veteran must be contacted about his hearing options.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus have been withdrawn.,Service connection is not granted for a left ankle disability. The Veteran's current ankle pain started in 2004.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining deck logs of ships he served on and determining if he visited Vietnam.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus and PTSD, but granted service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran is currently rated at 20 percent for diabetes mellitus.

The Board has determined that additional development of the evidentiary record, specifically obtaining treatment records from Lakeland VA Regional Hospital and Tampa VAMC, is necessary to properly adjudicate the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's PTSD has been granted a 50 percent initial rating, and his diabetes mellitus has been granted a 20 percent initial rating. The appeals for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, and chloracne have all been denied.

The Veteran's diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, bilateral peripheral vascular disease, and erectile dysfunction are all service-connected as they are related to his service-connected diabetes. The Board finds that these conditions were likely caused or aggravated by the diabetes.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and bilateral eye disability, as well as his request for higher initial ratings for degenerative osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine.

The Board found no evidence of exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service, and the Veteran's diabetes mellitus and stroke did not have onset during service or within one year of separation. The preponderance of evidence is against granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, which was initially granted in March 2002 and rated at 20 percent prior to November 19, 2010, has now been found to warrant a 40 percent evaluation as of that date due to the need for insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities. The Veteran's condition does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his request for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). The issues of entitlement to initial compensable and excess ratings for service-connected erectile dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, and diabetic nephropathy are still pending.

The Board has determined that the Veteran had service in Vietnam as defined by VA regulations, and therefore is presumed to have been exposed to herbicides. As a result, diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted as incurred in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, was presumed to have been incurred due to herbicide exposure during his service in Vietnam. The diabetes mellitus type II and end stage renal disease resulting from this exposure were also considered presumptively service-connected.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of diabetes mellitus was denied as the earliest date of claim is July 5, 2007.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus was denied, and his attempt to reopen a claim for peripheral neuropathy was also denied. The Board finds that the claim must be remanded to consider whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the claim for peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, finding that the Veteran's elevated blood pressure during service constituted early manifestation of his current condition. Service connection for type II diabetes mellitus was denied as there is no evidence showing its onset in service or within one year post-service.

The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for diabetes on a schedular basis was denied. The Board found that the available schedular evaluations adequately compensated his service-connected diabetes. The issue of entitlement to TDIU is remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the diabetes rating claim.

The Board found that the Veteran's hypertension was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred due to his diabetes mellitus. The claim for secondary service connection was denied.

The Veteran is granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD effective September 1, 2004. He is also granted TDIU effective September 1, 2004 based on the combined effect of his service-connected disabilities.