Diabetes Board decisions

The Board has found that the VA did not substantially comply with its prior remand orders regarding scheduling of medical examinations for the Veteran's service connection claims. The appeals are therefore being returned to the AOJ for further development.

The Veteran's cause of death is remanded due to the need for additional research regarding herbicide agent exposure and a medical opinion on the relationship between service-connected conditions and his cause of death.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes mellitus, sinus disability, acquired psychiatric disability (MDD, PTSD), cirrhosis of the liver, facial injury with six teeth missing, right eye injury, tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and TBI. The issues are being returned to the RO/AMC for further development.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus, finding that the diseases did not manifest during or within one year after service. The Board also found no causal relationship between these conditions and service-connected post-polio syndrome.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's pancreatitis as secondary to his service-connected PTSD. However, the claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus is remanded due to a lack of an adequate medical opinion.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for diabetes and TDIU are being remanded due to the need to obtain Social Security Administration records, including earnings information.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, and a heart disability were dismissed because the appeal was improperly docketed due to administrative error. The Veteran had not yet been issued a rating decision in regard to his July 2023 supplemental claim.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the evaluations and service connection decisions related to hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, and impotence.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for high triglycerides and diabetes, finding that there is no evidence of an in-service event or injury relating to these conditions, nor a medical nexus between his current conditions and military service.

The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, hypertension, and type II diabetes mellitus based on the Veteran's exposure to hazardous materials during his military service at Fort McClellan.

The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and there is no evidence to support the claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.

The Veteran's visual field defects are currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted service connection. The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), to include constipation and diarrhea, is denied service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, memory loss, right shoulder disability, and left shoulder disability due to exposure to herbicide agents are all denied. The Board found no credible evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service.

The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis with gout, COPD, cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), tendonitis, erectile dysfunction, and diabetes mellitus, type II. The evidence did not support a current diagnosis of any of these conditions.,Service connection was also denied for acid reflux disease as it is not service-connected on a secondary basis.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, which rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.,Effective September 13, 2022, the Veteran is also entitled to SMC at the housebound rate due to his combined disability rating of 90 percent without including the PTSD.

The Board denied service connection for gout, finding no evidence of a nexus to service. Service connection for diabetes mellitus type II is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion.,Service connection for DM II remains in dispute as the VA examiner did not provide an adequate opinion regarding its relationship to service-connected major depressive disorder or whether it was aggravated by that condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions, including a spleen condition, obstructive sleep apnea, pituitary adenoma (claimed as brain tumor), diabetes mellitus type II, and hemorrhoids have been denied. The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims.

The Veteran's prostate cancer, left eye nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, left lower extremity and right lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease (status post NSTEMI) have been granted initial evaluations. Effective dates for these determinations are also established.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed, including obtaining information about the qualifications of a VA examiner and completing a TERA memorandum. The claims for service connection are remanded.