Kidney disease decisions — 2026

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right kidney neoplasm and residuals, including a partial nephrectomy. The decision is based on evidence showing that the condition is etiologically related to toxic exposures during service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney cancer and lung cancer due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of his kidney cancer, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The claim for lung cancer is inextricably intertwined with the kidney cancer claim.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, a back condition, hair loss, a right wrist condition, scars, tinnitus, kidney problems, erectile dysfunction, and left knee condition have been dismissed as the Veteran did not file timely notices of disagreement.

The Veteran's ESRD is denied as not related to service, including herbicide agent exposure. The skin cancer of the right ear remains under remand for further evaluation.

The Board has determined that there were errors in the pre-decisional duty-to-assist process for the Veteran's claims of service connection for sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and chronic kidney disease. The case is being remanded to obtain a proper medical opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic kidney disease, finding that he does not have a current diagnosis of this condition and thus cannot establish service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding secondary service connection for kidney cancer, specifically whether it is aggravated by service-connected hypertension and diabetes. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered with new medical opinions addressing this issue.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and potential duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran is seeking service connection for migraine headaches, which he contends are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus, diabetes mellitus, and asthma. He also seeks service connection for a kidney disability manifested by kidney stones and a weak right kidney, which he asserts is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a left wrist fracture, bilateral hearing loss, Type II diabetes, bilateral glaucoma, OSA, cervical disc herniation, and other musculoskeletal issues are denied.,Service connection is not established for any of the claimed conditions.

The Veteran's hypertension, kidney disease, prostate cancer, and non-hodgkin's lymphoma are granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's psychiatric condition is remanded for a determination on whether it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has denied service connection for neck, back, kidney, liver, IBS, and bilateral plantar fasciitis disorders due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active duty service.

The Board has denied the readjudication of service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. The appeal regarding PTSD was withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability was denied. The Board also remanded the service connection claims for hypertension and kidney disease due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for anemia, chronic bronchitis, chronic kidney disease (CKD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and a bilateral ankle disorder. All conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.,Reasoning: The evidence supports that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the Veteran's active duty service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further evaluation and consideration of his service-connected conditions, including chronic renal disease, cholesteatoma post radical mastoidectomies with reconstructive surgery, and BPPV. The issues include seeking higher evaluations for these conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error related to VA's statutory duties under the PACT Act. The Veteran had presumptive exposure to herbicide agents, but there is no medical opinion on whether his kidney disability was related to any toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).

The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic renal disease status-post neoplasm of the kidney and right nephrectomy was granted with a 60 percent evaluation effective March 14, 2017. The claims for higher ratings were denied.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for further review of the evidence. The Board is unable to determine if there was a factual increase in disability prior to the effective dates requested, or if service connection should be granted based on the current evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including sleep apnea and gout, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation since December 12, 2017. The effective date for the TDIU is set at December 12, 2017.

The Veteran's chronic kidney disease, including ADPKD, has not met the criteria for a compensable rating as there is no evidence of GFR from 45 to 59 mL/min/1.73 m2 for at least 3 consecutive months during the past 12 months.