Kidney disease decisions — 2006

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling appropriate examinations, and readjudicating the claim on a de novo basis.

The Board denied service connection for osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine and kidney stones, finding no evidence linking these conditions to active service.

The Board found that the evidence did not establish that VA's care or lack of care caused the veteran's death, and denied the claim for compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have service connection for heart disease, stroke, or kidney disease. Bilateral below the knee amputations are also denied as secondary to ischemia caused by heart disease.

The Board has denied reopening the claims for service connection for bone ulcer of the right shin, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, and left knee injury due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service medical records and the need for additional evidence, including VA treatment records and morning reports from the veteran's unit in Korea. The veteran must be afforded a VA examination to determine if his chronic renal disability is related to service.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD due to lack of corroborated stressor. Service connection was also denied for renal cell carcinoma and hypertension, as there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to active duty or presumed herbicide exposure. The claim for reopening the sensorineural hearing loss claim was remanded.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's clear cell carcinoma of the right kidney, metastatic to the left adrenal gland, to herbicide exposure during service. The preponderance of the evidence is against a nexus between any current diagnoses and service connection.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell cancer, finding that there is no evidence linking his condition to service or radiation exposure. The issue of entitlement to service connection for pain and swelling on the right side of the neck, claimed as secondary to residuals of pilonidal cyst excision, is being remanded due to a failure to provide an SOC.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence linking his fatal condition to his period of service or establishing a nexus between his service and his death.