Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2009

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the veteran.

The veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues on March 13, 2009.

The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that the criteria for entitlement to service connection for a back disability are met and that service connection is warranted.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for distal neuropathy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, finding that there was no evidence of a direct causal relationship between the veteran's in-service symptoms and his current condition.

The appeal for service connection for coronary artery disease, as secondary to service-connected type II diabetes mellitus, is dismissed. The case is remanded for a new VA examination and review of additional medical records.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left forearm and low back disabilities were denied as the evidence did not support higher ratings.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for diabetes mellitus, type II, and a compensable evaluation for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities. The claim for service connection for tinnitus and hypertension was also denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for dizziness, peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities, and an increased rating for cervical myositis were denied.

The Board finds that the evidence supports the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for peripheral neuropathy and poryphyria cutanea tarda.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as there was no evidence of in-service incurrence or a link to service, and the conditions were not shown to have manifested within one year of discharge.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was denied because he failed, without good cause, to report for a VA compensation examination needed to decide his appeal.

The appeal is being remanded for additional VA examination to accurately determine the current nature and severity of the Veteran's diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy.

The appeal is remanded for a current VA examination and to obtain any recent treatment records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus with complications of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and peripheral neuropathy as there was no evidence that he had been present on the landmass or inland waters of Vietnam during the Vietnam conflict.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction, finding that it was not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus disability. The claims for increased evaluations of lumbosacral strain and diabetic peripheral neuropathy were remanded for further development.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was not incurred in or aggravated by his military service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service, including from Agent Orange exposure.

The Veteran is granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, with diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, as a result of exposure to herbicides during his service in Vietnam.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability, and there were no exceptional factors warranting referral for extra-schedular consideration.

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current peripheral neuropathy.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy, have rendered him unemployable.