Kidney disease decisions — 2018

The Board has determined that the Veteran's kidney disease is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus and grants the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's kidney stones were found to have been recurrent and requiring therapy since his initial claim in July 2012, leading to a grant of a 30% rating effective from that date.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various conditions, including kidney condition, deformity of the bladder, damages to the testicles, and prostate condition. The issues are related to determining whether these conditions were caused by or related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of his cause of death for purposes of entitlement to DIC benefits due to a lack of evidence linking any in-service incident, illness or injury to his causes of death. The Board also remanded the issue of survivor's pension benefits based on countable income.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for accrued benefits, VA death pension benefits, and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to withdrawal of claims by the appellant. The appeal for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, hyperglycemia (also claimed as pre-diabetes), and chronic kidney disease due to presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The evidence did not show current diagnoses or a causal link between these conditions and service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic renal disease requiring regular dialysis is not related to service, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that his condition was incurred or aggravated during active duty.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The Board found that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen the claim of a bilateral shoulder disability, and that there is no nexus between his heart disabilities, hypertension, kidney disabilities (nephrolithiasis and chronic renal disease), or dyslexia and his active military service or service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for renal cell carcinoma, acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, and tooth loss claimed as due to herbicide exposure. The evidence did not support a finding of in-service exposure or a nexus between the conditions and service.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes, erectile dysfunction, kidney disorder, arteriosclerosis, and nephropathy due to conflicting evidence of record regarding the diagnosis of diabetes.

The Veteran's diabetes, type I and status-post acute kidney injury secondary to diabetic ketoacidosis are granted as service-connected.

The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or exposure to ionizing radiation, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension is caused or aggravated by his service-connected renal cell carcinoma, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias, as well as hypertensive nephrosclerosis and chronic kidney disease, both secondary to his service-connected hypertension.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for various conditions, including chronic abdominal pain, liver lesions, kidney lesions, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, and chronic insomnia.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims due to new evidence received after May 2018. The SSOC will address these matters.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for a low back disability and a compensable rating for kidney stone residuals.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development regarding his claims of service connection for an implanted cardiac pacemaker, initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, and initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for nephrolithiasis. Additionally, the TDIU claim from March 11, 2016 is also remanded.

The Veteran's chronic renal disease, status post dialysis and kidney transplant is granted as service-connected due to the exposure to environmental hazards during his service in Iraq.

The Veteran's cause of death is due to liver failure and renal failure, which the Board has remanded for further clarification on their etiology. The service connection claim for diabetes mellitus II remains pending.