Kidney disease decisions — 2008

The veteran died from non-service-connected causes and was not buried in a state or national cemetery. Therefore, the claim for non-service-connected burial benefits and plot allowance is denied.

The Board finds that the cause of the veteran's death, cardiorespiratory failure secondary to renal failure, was not incurred or aggravated by his military service. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for end-stage renal disease as secondary to hypertension and his claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that the veteran's renal disease was related to service or aggravated by his service-connected conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left renal calculus does not meet or approximate the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether service-connected diverticulitis contributed substantially or materially to the veteran's death.

The veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, and chronic kidney failure due to herbicide exposure are all granted.

The veteran withdrew his claims for gout, hiatal hernia, kidney stones, and fatty tumors before the Board could make a decision.

The Board denied service connection for kidney disability, colon cancer, diabetes mellitus, type II, and diabetic neuropathy as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death was not incurred in or aggravated by active duty, nor may such incurrence or aggravation be presumed. The appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is denied.

The Board remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for a kidney disorder and a back disorder for further development, as the most recent VA examination did not comply with the prior remand instructions.

The Board found that the veteran's metastatic disease to brain, bone and lung did not have onset during active service, did not manifest within one year of separation from active service, and are not otherwise related to the veteran's active service. The Board also determined that a disability incurred in or aggravated by service did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to cause the veteran's death.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for numbness of the feet and hands.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension, erectile dysfunction, a kidney disorder (including a cyst), and erosive gastritis as the preponderance of evidence indicated that these conditions were not related to the veteran's active service.

The Board denied service connection for seasonal allergies, acute allergic rhinitis, a chronic gynecological disorder, a chronic or recurrent kidney infection, and bilateral hearing loss. The veteran's pes planus was found to be pre-existing and not aggravated by her military service.

The Board denied service connection for renal failure and diabetes mellitus as they were not shown to be related to the veteran's military service, including any exposure to ionizing radiation or mercury.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a kidney condition, as there was no evidence of a kidney disorder during or immediately following service and the first meaningful evidence of such a condition occurred decades after discharge.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for the veteran's residuals from left kidney cancer, status post radical nephrectomy.

The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for kidney stones, but denied service connection for glaucoma, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities, onychomycosis, and sleep apnea.

The veteran's kidney stones are manifested by an occasional attack, but do not require catheter drainage, diet therapy, drug therapy, or invasive or non-invasive procedures more than two times a year. The Board concludes that a rating in excess of 10 percent is not warranted.

The veteran's service connection claims for residuals of kidney problems, left ear hearing loss, and tinnitus were granted based on evidence showing their onset during active military service.