Kidney disease decisions — 2011

The Veteran's hypertension and kidney disability are not found to be related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, thus denying the claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of kidney stones is being remanded due to the need for further medical examination and development.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are being remanded due to the need for further development, including VA examinations.

The Board has determined that the evidence received since the May 2006 denial does not constitute new and material evidence to reopen the claim of service connection for hypertension. The Veteran's current conditions are not linked to his active military service.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for the issues of service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hyperthyroidism, a respiratory disability, and kidney dysfunction.

The Veteran's combined rating for service-connected disabilities is now at 70%, which meets the schedular criteria for a TDIU rating. The Board has remanded to obtain an opinion on whether his service-connected disabilities, alone or in combination with nonservice-connected disabilities, render him unemployable.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including depression, renal insufficiency with hypertension, incisional hernia, diabetes mellitus with retinopathy and impotence, right knee disability, left knee disability, neurodermatitis, tinnitus, limitation of motion of the right knee, hearing loss, and other conditions have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for kidney disease, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his cervical spine disability and his kidney condition.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and arranging VA examinations to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric and genitourinary disorders are related to his military service.

The VA medical expert determined that the Veteran's chronic renal failure is not related to his service-connected bladder condition or the April 2008 procedures, and does not appear to be in any way medically related to these conditions.

The Board found no evidence of a link between the Veteran's current disabilities and his military service, including exposure to ionizing radiation. Therefore, service connection for loss of hair, loss of teeth, kidney disability, and circulatory disability was denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's kidney disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and denied his claim for service connection. The other issues were also addressed, but no rating assigned as they are related to prostate cancer.

The Veteran's CKD was not caused by VA treatment, and the Board finds that VA did not act negligently or carelessly in providing the treatment. The Veteran has additional disability as a result of his own use of pain medication.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses from July 10 to July 16, 2008 was denied because the evidence showed that he was stable enough to be transferred to a VA facility by July 10, 2008.

The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the kidney and lung cancer, was not caused by or related to his military service. The medical evidence did not establish a direct link between any service-connected condition and the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current low back or kidney disability that is related to service, and therefore, service connection for these conditions cannot be granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a kidney disorder and a right wrist disability, finding that there was no evidence of current disabilities or chronic conditions related to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining his complete service treatment records and scheduling VA examinations. The issues of secondary service connection will also be addressed.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute substantially to his death, and denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development at the RO level.