Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2009

The Veteran's service connection claims for peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities are granted as related to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed erectile dysfunction condition and denied his claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction secondary to type II diabetes mellitus. The Board also noted that there is no medical evidence establishing a link between the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy and his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have been incurred due to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board finds that the VA facilities are geographically accessible and capable of providing the required care, thus denying the Veteran's claim for fee basis medical care.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional STRs and private treatment records. The RO will attempt to locate missing STRs, particularly those related to his foot condition, chronic bronchitis, bladder condition, and peripheral neuropathy. They must also seek any relevant VA medical records from November 2007 onwards.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral disability and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy has been granted. His claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have also been granted.

The Board found that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, myopathy, and sensory peripheral neuropathy were not incurred or aggravated by his military service, including as secondary to Agent Orange exposure. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for his service-connected diabetic neuropathy of the upper extremities has been withdrawn.

The Board has dismissed all issues due to the appellant's withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's lumbar spine IVDS disability is rated at 20 percent, and his neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities are also rated at 20 percent each. The ratings reflect the current level of impairment due to decreased range of motion and associated symptoms.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a fee basis outpatient identification card due to the availability of geographically accessible VA facilities that can provide necessary psychiatric services, including at the St. Louis VAMC.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied. The Board found no evidence of current disabilities or a link to service.

The Board is considering whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen claims for service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, scleredema of the back, coronary artery disease, hypertension, blindness due to diabetic retinopathy, and a bilateral foot disorder. The appeal involves determining if these conditions are related to exposure to herbicide.

The Board found that the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities and impotence were not caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The claims for secondary service connection were denied.

The Board denied claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a cardiovascular disorder, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. The VA found no evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining STRs and SSA records, and for a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected hypertension with hypertensive retinopathy.

The Veteran's post-traumatic radial and ulnar nerve neuropathy of the right upper extremity is currently rated as 30 percent disabling, effective December 8, 2008. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted for this time period.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, benign prostatic hypertrophy, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, PTSD, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of evidence associating these conditions with his active service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not result in unemployability prior to October 19, 2007. The effective date for the TDIU is therefore October 19, 2007.

The Board found that the Veteran's right trigeminal neuropathy warranted a rating of 10% since April 2004, which was consistent with his prior reduction in rating. The evidence did not support an increase to a higher rating.