Kidney disease Board decisions

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension due to presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The remaining claims of service connection for insomnia, kidney condition, diverticulitis, and skin condition are denied.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection claims have been remanded due to the complexity of his medical conditions, including CAD, tinnitus, hearing loss, GERD, kidney disease, claudication, and knee condition. The appeals are currently pending.

The Veteran's kidney disability is granted as secondary to service-connected hypertension, but his rheumatoid arthritis is denied due to lack of evidence linking it to military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for various disabilities, including dental condition, right shoulder disability, right arm disability, OSA, kidney disability, polycythemia, right knee DJD with limitation of flexion, left knee DJD, hemorrhoids, hiatal hernia with GERD, and TDIU. The remand requires additional development to obtain relevant VA treatment records and conduct a VA examination for the Veteran's knee disabilities.

The Veteran's hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and chronic headache disability are granted as service-connected due to in-service herbicide exposure.,Bladder cancer is denied as there is no evidence of the condition during or within one year after separation from active service. Peripheral neuropathy is also denied based on lack of evidence of onset during service or within a year post-separation.

The Veteran's emergency care at M.D. Hospital on December 3, 2015 was covered by VA as it met the criteria for reimbursement under 38 U.S.C. § 1725.

The Board has withdrawn the Veteran's claim for diabetes mellitus type II and has remanded his claims for hypertension, cataracts, urinary tract disability (claimed as kidney condition), bilateral lower extremity neuropathy, and bilateral upper extremity neuropathy due to potential service connection based on herbicide exposure.

The Board has granted an effective date of May 1, 2021 for the award of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits. The Appellant's claim for earlier effective dates is denied as a matter of law.

The Board has granted service connection for lung cancer as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type status post right nephrectomy and adrenalectomy.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examinations and lack of consideration of certain evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient information regarding the Veteran's employment status, which is necessary for determining his eligibility for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus and kidney disease, finding that there was no evidence of onset in service or within a year following separation. The Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune is conceded, but the Board concluded that his conditions are not related to this exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination for the Veteran's chronic kidney disease, which is necessary to determine its current severity and assign an appropriate rating. The earlier effective date issue is also intertwined with the rating issue.

The Board denied service connection for kidney stones and renal disease, finding that the evidence did not support a nexus to service or exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran's kidney stones were not shown to be related to his service, and his renal disease was not shown to be secondary to his kidney stones.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU prior to August 17, 2016. The claims for service connection are being remanded as they may affect the determination of whether he is entitled to a TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected chronic hypertensive kidney disease is granted as it is presumed to be related to his exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.

The Veteran's cardiomyopathy and resulting kidney failure are directly related to active service, granted.

The Veteran's kidney cancer is not presumed to be related to herbicide agent exposure, but the Board finds a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if it was caused by service.

The Board has dismissed all appeals for effective dates earlier than July 1, 2016, as the Veteran died during the pendency of these appeals.

The Veteran's renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type status post right nephrectomy and adrenalectomy is granted as service connected due to a new opinion linking it to Agent Orange exposure.