Diabetes Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims for further action due to incomplete information and clarification of exposure to herbicide agents.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of his conditions. The case is returned to the RO for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for gastrointestinal disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and lumbar spine disability due to conflicting medical opinions. The Veteran's GERD claim is denied as he does not have a current diagnosis of GERD.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and ischemic heart disease due to insufficient information regarding in-service herbicide agent exposure. The Veteran is asked to provide more details or contact him if further assistance is needed.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his service-connected disabilities or exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange) with his pulmonary fibrosis and death. The Board held that the preponderance of the evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's active duty service and/or his service-connected conditions and his cause of death.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, to include as due to a service-connected disability (PTSD or diabetes mellitus), should be remanded because the August 2021 VA examination is inadequate and does not address the effects of medications used to treat his service-connected disabilities on his sleep apnea.

The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for skin cancer due to inadequate nexus opinions from prior VA examinations. The Veteran's prostate cancer residuals and diabetes mellitus are not rated higher than their current levels.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient opinions regarding service connection for diabetes mellitus. The Veteran's DM is being evaluated again, including whether it was caused by his service-connected back disability, OSA, and/or PTSD, as well as whether obesity played a role.

The Veteran's TDIU on an extraschedular basis is granted effective February 6, 2011. The Board found that the combined severity of his service-connected disabilities has precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation as of this date.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus is granted as service connected, and the Board finds that his peripheral neuropathy at all levels of the extremities are also service-connected due to herbicide exposure in Thailand.

The Board has denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, right leg amputation at the knee, amputation of the left fourth toe, foot ulcers, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, and erectile dysfunction. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, finding that it did not manifest to a compensable degree in-service or within a presumptive period and continuity of symptomatology was not established. The Board also found no medical evidence linking the current condition to service.

The Veteran's tinnitus and hypertension are granted service connection. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer (due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune), left knee disability, and right knee disability are remanded.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus, both claimed as resulting from herbicide agent exposure, have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has remanded the claim due to inadequate compliance with previous remand directives, specifically regarding a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right lower extremity paralysis and PTSD, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has granted the TDIU claim.

The Board has decided to remand several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including his hearing loss disability, low back disability, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, and associated neuropathy. The Veteran will need to undergo additional examinations to determine the current severity of his hearing loss, the nature and etiology of his low back disability, and the relationship between his sleep apnea and chemical exposure during service.

The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a left eye injury due to VA cataract surgery in September 2011, finding that the Veteran's decreased visual acuity was not caused by the surgery but rather by his pre-existing Fuchs Dystrophy and diabetic retinopathy.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his hypertension. The issues remain on appeal as secondary service connection.

The Veteran's left eye diabetic retinopathy is granted. The Board finds that an additional remand is necessary to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral eye disability, including right eye diabetic retinopathy and other eye disabilities.