Kidney disease decisions — 2009

The veteran's death was not caused by, or substantially or materially contributed to by, an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active military service, to include on a presumptive basis.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a kidney disability, as there was no evidence of a current kidney disability related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence that his renal cancer, which caused his death, was related to his active service or any herbicide exposure therein.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause his death and played no substantial or material part in his death, and did not otherwise materially accelerate his death.

The veteran's PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to July 16, 2006, and increased to 50 percent from that date due to symptoms of depressed mood, difficulty sleeping, flashbacks, startle response, hypervigilence, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including scheduling a hearing for the veteran.

The Board granted service connection for renal insufficiency as secondary to the veteran's service-connected type II diabetes mellitus and infectious hepatitis, but denied increased evaluations for peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities and upper extremities, and denied reopening claims for PTSD, dyspneic disorder with anxiety, and hypertensive vascular disease.

The appeal resulted in denial of new and material evidence for kidney stones, a rating higher than 50 percent for depression, a rating higher than 20 percent for lumbar spine disability, and an appropriate reduction in the rating for supraventricular tachycardia.

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of the service-connected knee and kidney disabilities.

The Board remands the case for further development, including obtaining additional service records and a more definitive medical opinion regarding the veteran's claimed in-service fall and its relation to his current right kidney disorder.

The veteran's kidney stones were not found to warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, as the evidence did not show recurrent stone formation requiring catheter drainage or more than two times a year invasive or non-invasive procedures.

The Board concluded that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability and denied entitlement to DIC benefits.

The appeal was remanded for further action on the three issues on appeal.

The Board remands the claim for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination to determine the primary site of and likely etiology of the claimed metastatic cancers.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a psychiatric disorder other than post-traumatic stress disorder, hypertension, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, arthritis of the hands, chronic fatigue syndrome, and back disability. The claims to reopen for arthritis of the knees and stress fractures of the legs and feet were also denied.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for scheduling a Travel Board hearing.

The Board determined that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the September 1993 rating action which reduced the disability rating for stage A renal cell carcinoma with right radical nephrectomy from 100 percent to 30 percent, effective March 1, 1994.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as renal failure, hyperkalemia, multi-system organ failure, sepsis, post-operative coronary bypass, and aortic arch aneurysm repair were not incurred or aggravated in service and did not contribute substantially to his death.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, secondary to diabetes mellitus type II. The evidence does not support a finding that his hypertension is related to his service-connected condition.

The Board granted service connection for a back disorder and denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the residual scar of a partial right kidney nephrectomy.