Kidney disease decisions — 2025

The appeal of entitlement to service connection for a mental health disorder, claimed as anxiety and depression, is dismissed. The claims for service connection for heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation with cardiac pacemaker, testicular hypofunction, and chronic pain syndrome are denied.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension, renal cyst, renal toxicity, and coronary artery disease (CAD) as secondary to the service-connected conditions. Scleroderma was denied.

The Board granted an effective date of April 26, 2011 for the award of service connection for neoplasm of the kidney, nephrectomy associated with neoplasm of the kidney, and scarring associated with nephrectomy.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for soft tissue carcinoma, kidney condition, and heart condition(s) due to inadequate VA medical opinions.

The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion on when the Veteran had findings consistent with chronic kidney disease, as it was reasonably raised by the record at the time of his hypertension claim.

The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a failure by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) to provide notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing and to readjudicate the claims after fulfilling this requirement.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected psychiatric disability, service connection for persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), and service connection for hypertension. The claim for a compensable rating for migraine headaches was remanded.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of the listed conditions were etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a skin condition and genitourinary condition to obtain additional medical evidence.

The Board granted service connection for chronic kidney disease stage 3 and prostate cancer, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on a private medical opinion.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for nephrocalcinosis, renal tubular acidosis, chronic renal disease, and Sjogren's syndrome due to a failure to provide VA medical examinations and an inadequate duty to assist.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection for renal cell carcinoma, finding that September 15, 2023, is the appropriate date.

The appeal for an increased rating in excess of 30 percent for right kidney cancer residuals is remanded to obtain private treatment records from Dr. M.

The Board remands the claims for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's cardiovascular and kidney disabilities were caused or aggravated by VA treatment.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension and chronic kidney disease, both based on the PACT Act. Bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, finding no evidence to support an earlier date of entitlement or a higher rating.

The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of ablation of the posterior urethral valve surgery, other than urine retention, from January 4, 2005, to April 2010.

The Board denied a higher rating for high blood pressure and a compensable disability rating for a chest surgical scar. The issue of service connection for chronic kidney failure with dialysis was remanded.

The Board remands the claims for further development and to correct duty-to-assist errors, including verifying Persian Gulf service and obtaining additional medical opinions.

The Board remands the appeal for further development consistent with a Joint Motion for Remand, including obtaining federal records from SSA and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of syncope associated with the Veteran's service-connected conditions.