Kidney disease decisions — 2009

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses for treatment of acute renal failure and other conditions from February 1, 2004 to March 5, 2004 were reimbursed as the VA facilities were not feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand would not have been reasonable.

The Veteran's kidney infections and spasms are not considered to be directly related to his service-connected residuals of a perforated right kidney. The Board denied both the claim for service connection and the request for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Veteran's death was caused by heart failure, coronary artery disease, chronic renal dysfunction, and chronic lung disease. The appellant is seeking service connection for these conditions as they may have been related to his service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostatitis and kidney disability have been denied. The Veteran's prostatitis is considered a direct result of his military service, while his kidney condition does not appear to be directly related to his service.

The Board is remanding the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for bone marrow deficiency to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC) in Washington, DC, for further development and consideration. The Veteran's other claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for renal insufficiency is being remanded as well.

The Board denied reopening the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, neuropathy, retinopathy, renal failure, and a foot ulcer due to lack of evidence verifying the Veteran's presence in Vietnam. The new evidence received since July 2002 is cumulative and redundant.

The Veteran's death was caused by colon cancer and acute renal failure, but there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's current kidney condition to his service, and thus denied service connection for hypertensive renal disease.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including arthritis, gout, back disability, hearing loss, tinnitus, lung disability (claimed as breathing problems), sleep problems, heart disability, kidney disability, and neck cancer have been denied. The Veteran withdrew his claim for service connection for gout.

The Veteran's death was not caused or aggravated by service, including a service-connected disability. The Board found that the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest due to renal failure and liver dysfunction, which were not related to his diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses for a renal stone in April 2007 were not reimbursable by VA as he did not meet the eligibility criteria under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1725.

The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic renal cell cancer, which is not service-connected. The Board found that no disease or injury of service origin contributed substantially or materially to the cause of death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or contributed to by his service-connected cold injury residuals, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.

The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was not a disability incurred in or aggravated by active service. The appellant meets criteria for payment of nonservice-connected burial benefits but no more.

The Veteran's metastatic carcinoid cancer of the liver, kidney, intestines, lung, and pancreas was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a right kidney disability. However, as the appeal is about reopening the claim rather than deciding on the merits of service connection, the decision is considered 'mixed' - some issues are granted while others are not.

The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied as there is no evidence of chronic rhabdomyolysis or residual disability from the acute case in March 1994.

The Veteran's recurrent kidney stones are service connected. However, his back disability is not service connected as it does not appear to be related to an injury in service.

The Veteran's type II diabetes mellitus is not service-connected due to being related to pancreatitis, and his kidney problems are not service-connected as there is no evidence of a disease or injury in service.

The Veteran's service connection claims for kidney stones and hemorrhoids were decided. The claim for kidney stones was denied, while the claim for hemorrhoids was granted.