Kidney disease decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for left kidney cancer residuals, finding that the Veteran's condition was present during active duty.

The Veteran's kidney cancer was not manifested in service or until decades later. The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against a finding that his kidney cancer is etiologically related to his service, and denies the claim.

The Board has granted service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, prostate disorder, kidney disorder, and foot disability. The effective dates are not specified.

The Board has granted service connection for kidney cancer, finding that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether it is related to Agent Orange exposure during service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected.,Service connection for prostate cancer with urinary frequency due to exposure to herbicide agents is granted.,Service connection for hypertension and kidney stones are denied.,Service connection for erectile dysfunction secondary to prostate cancer with urinary frequency is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disorders, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, cervical spine disorder, bilateral renal cysts, prostatitis/benign prostatic hypertrophy with hematuria (BPH) have all been denied as the evidence does not support a finding of in-service onset or direct causation.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder is related to service and has been granted.,Diabetes mellitus was not present during service or within one year of separation, and the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that it is related to service.

The Veteran's claim for kidney failure was denied as there is no evidence of current kidney failure during the appeal period.,PTSD was granted with a 70% evaluation, but not at the maximum schedular rating due to his employment and marital status.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection due to exposure to environmental hazards and ionizing radiation. The issues of service connection for blood disorder, prostate disorder, kidney disorder, and a disorder characterized by fatigue have been remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal carcinoma with left nephrectomy was reopened and granted. The Veteran also had his PTSD rating increased to 100% effective July 5, 2016.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and need for additional medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the claims for demyelinating disease, vision disorder, renal disorder, and herpes zoster due to inadequate opinions and new evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic bronchitis and a kidney condition, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.,For chronic bronchitis, the Board determined that the Veteran did not have asbestos exposure during service and found that his current condition is not related to this exposure. For chronic kidney disease, the Board concluded that it was not present during service or within a year of separation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for metastatic urothelial carcinoma and metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis, which he claimed as bladder cancer. The evidence did not support a link to military service or exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder was previously denied in January 2004, and new evidence received since then does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. The Veteran's current cervical spine disability is not related to his military service.,There is no evidence of a kidney disorder during or within one year after service, nor was there any indication that it was caused by a service-connected condition. The Veteran's medications for his hip replacement are not considered to be a cause of his kidney stones.

The Board has granted service connection for mild renal insufficiency, claimed as kidney condition, on a secondary basis to the Veteran's service-connected essential hypertension. The rating for hypertension remains at 30 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for skin cancer. The issues of service connection for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and kidney cancer are remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various conditions due to incomplete records from the Houston VA medical center.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a kidney disorder is reopened, and the case is remanded to determine the nature and etiology of his kidney disorder.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were dismissed due to their death.