Kidney disease decisions — 2015

The Veteran is seeking service connection for cancer diagnoses due to exposure at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The case has been remanded for a videoconference hearing and further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to incomplete service personnel records and potential inconsistencies with reported stressors. The SSA records are also needed for both issues on appeal.

The Board has vacated its September 2012 decision regarding the effective date for service connection of prostate cancer and denied all other claims. The Veteran's prostate cancer was not granted earlier than September 5, 2002, as he did not submit a claim prior to that date.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Central Florida Regional Hospital on March 29, 2012 for pain related to kidney stones were denied as the condition was not considered emergent and a VA facility was feasibly available.

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

The Veteran's service connection claims for diabetes, heart disability, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, diabetic retinopathy, and loss of kidney are granted due to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange during service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's tinnitus, skin disorder, and cyst on the kidney are all service-connected. The decision grants these claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by VA treatment and did not find negligence on VA's part. Therefore, DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for the death of a veteran has not been met.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection were denied. The Board notes that the Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding entitlement to an effective date earlier than February 12, 2009, for the grant of service connection for bursitis of the right elbow and osteomyelitis, to include on a secondary basis.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and kidney disability (residuals of kidney stones) have been denied as there is no current evidence of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's COPD substantially contributed to his death from chronic renal failure and bladder cancer with wide spread metastasis.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to the Veteran's request for withdrawal prior to a decision being made.

The Board has granted service connection for kidney stones and a skin disorder of the feet and hands, both considered presumptively related to service in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations during the Persian Gulf War. The psychiatric disorder claim was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or continuity of symptoms since service.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and its associated secondary disabilities (eye disability, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of upper and lower extremities, and kidney disability) due to presumed exposure to herbicides during active duty. Service connection was also granted for bilateral hearing loss as a result of in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including chronic renal failure and diabetes mellitus, made it difficult for him to work. The criteria for a TDIU were met from May 2, 2011 to May 3, 2013.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed conditions were not related to his service and denied all of his claims.

The Veteran's kidney disorder (proteinuria) is not service connected as it did not manifest within one year of separation from service and there is no evidence linking the condition to herbicide exposure or service-connected hypertension.,There is insufficient evidence to establish a connection between skin rashes and the Veteran's active duty service, including due to herbicide exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, Type II. The Veteran's other claims are pending and will be readjudicated after obtaining any outstanding VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's renal calculi and kidney cysts had their onset in service, and his degenerative arthritis of the left knee and right hip are aggravated by his service-connected chronic muscular strain superimposed on degenerative instability with sciatica. As such, these conditions have been granted service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development, including obtaining personnel records and a dose estimate for radiation exposure. The Veteran's claims will be reconsidered based on this additional information.