Kidney disease Board decisions

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete VA treatment records and the need to verify his claimed stressors. The veteran is also requested to provide more information regarding each of his stressor events.

The veteran's service-connected right knee injury with degenerative joint disease and postoperative residuals, herniated nucleus pulposus, lumbosacral spine were granted increased evaluations to 40 percent. The compensable evaluation for kidney stones was denied.

The Board found that the veteran's adverse reaction to medication prescribed by VA did not result from carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA. The condition was deemed unforeseeable.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of kidney stones and hemorrhoids, finding no current disability. Service connection was granted for floaters of both eyes and farsightedness.,Service connection was not established for the veteran's claimed conditions due to a lack of medical evidence of current disabilities.

The Board found no evidence of exposure to Agent Orange during service and denied the veteran's claims for service connection for gastric cancer, kidney disease, and peripheral neuropathy as a result of such exposure.

The veteran's claim for service connection for polycystic kidney disease is being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and an examination.

The Board found that it was not factually ascertainable prior to November 16, 2004 that the veteran was permanently and totally disabled due to his service-connected conditions. Therefore, the effective date for non-service-connected disability pension cannot be earlier than November 16, 2004.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension was not incurred during or aggravated by active duty, but his residuals of renal cell carcinoma are service-connected.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the cause of the veteran's death and whether service connection should be granted for it.

The veteran's compensation benefits awarded under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are subject to offset in the amount of $500,000 against his FTCA settlement award.

The Board has determined that the veteran's polycystic kidney disease is not proximately due to or the result of service-connected disability, including treatment for service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and further development is needed before a decision can be made on whether service connection for the cause of the veteran's death should be granted.

The veteran's death was not due to a service-connected disability, and thus the claim for service connection for the cause of his death is denied. The appellant is also not entitled to service-connected burial benefits as her husband's death is not service-connected.

PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate a 50 percent rating.,The service-connected status post residuals of right radical orchiectomy for seminoma with embryonal carcinoma of the right testicle and atrophy of the left testicle with hypogonadism do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,There is no evidence of a lung disorder (claimed as tuberculosis, sarcoidosis/pneumonitis, respiratory disorder, lung disorder, breathing problems, and lung cancer secondary to carcinoma of the right testicle) incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The claim may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.,Chest pain is not a distinct disability for VA disability compensation purposes.,Peptic ulcer disease was not incurred in, or aggravated by, active military service. The claim may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.,GERD was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The claim may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.,Degenerative joint disease was not incurred in, or aggravated by, active military service. The claim may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.,Low back pain is not a distinct disability for VA disability compensation purposes.,Claudication (also claimed as peripheral vascular disease) was not incurred in, or aggravated by, active military service. The claim may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.,Obesity was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.,Dyslipidemia is not a disability for VA disability compensation purposes.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for the cause of his death due to renal cell carcinoma, which was not linked to any period of active duty. The Board found that hypertension, a pre-existing condition, did not contribute to the cause of death.

The veteran's claims for diabetes, end-stage renal disease, and hypertension due to herbicide exposure are denied as there is no credible evidence of herbicide exposure in service or a link between the conditions and service.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a heart murmur or polycystic kidney disease, and therefore service connection for these conditions is denied. The issue of an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hypertension was remanded due to the filing of a notice of disagreement.

The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not due to VA carelessness, negligence, or fault. The post-operative intraabdominal infection did not result from a foreseeable event.

The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not due to a disease or injury incurred or aggravated by service, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of his death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's postoperative left renal calculus with renal insufficiency does not warrant a higher evaluation than the currently assigned 30 percent rating.