Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2007

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability and rheumatic heart disease.

The veteran's claims for PTSD and peripheral vascular disease, claimed as pain and peripheral neuropathy of the hands and feet, were denied because there was no evidence of in-service stressors or exposure to herbicides that would support service connection. The claim for peripheral neuropathy could not be granted based on presumptive service connection due to Agent Orange exposure.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have diabetic peripheral neuropathy and therefore cannot establish service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of service connection for peripheral neuropathy, which he claims is due to herbicide exposure. The claim will now be reviewed on its merits.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected low back disorder, left shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right femur fracture, and left femur fracture. The neuropathy of the lower right leg was also not granted a separate evaluation.

The Board has granted service connection for depression as secondary to the veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied service connection for residuals of cold injury of the lower extremities. The veteran is currently rated at 10% for his hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed back condition, knee condition, and peripheral neuropathy are not related to his military service.

The Board has granted the veteran separate 30 percent evaluations for instability of both knees, in addition to the currently assigned 10 percent ratings for limitation of motion. The current evaluations are considered adequate as they account for functional impairment due to pain and weakness.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to inadequate VCAA notice, and further development is required.

The Board has determined that an effective date earlier than March 1, 2002 for the award of pension benefits is denied.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for psychiatric disability, claimed as PTSD. The decision is to grant this claim.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA neurology examination and consideration of all submitted evidence.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and consideration of his claims, including service connection for peripheral neuropathy as secondary to a service-connected pituitary tumor.

The Board has determined that the VA's duties to notify and assist have not been fulfilled for this issue, and thus the case is being returned to the RO/AMC for further development.

The veteran's claims for higher evaluations of his lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and right shoulder disabilities were denied. The heart condition claim was not granted as it is unrelated to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed peripheral neuropathy was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and specifically denied service connection for this condition on a direct basis. The claim is also denied as secondary to herbicide exposure in Vietnam due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to evaluate the veteran's skin symptoms and determine their relationship to his military service. The issues of entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and unspecified skin rash remain on appeal.

The Board found that the veteran's current right foot conditions are not related to his service-connected fracture of the left fourth metatarsal, and concluded that they were not aggravated by service. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a broken nose, right ear hearing loss, hand and elbow disorder, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, and increased rating for DDD of the lumbar spine. The evidence did not establish new and material evidence to reopen any of these claims.

The Board found that the partial removal of the right 4th rib was a foreseeable consequence of the surgery and not the result of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on VA's part.,The medical evidence established that the veteran's right groin lymphocele and bilateral peripheral neuropathy were not results of the January 1997 surgery.