Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2010

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased evaluation for diabetes mellitus and entitlement to TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable.

The Veteran's symptoms have been attributed to known clinical diagnoses, and the Board finds that he does not have a chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness related to his service in Southwest Asia.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining SSA records and VA treatment records.

The Board found that the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy was not incurred in or aggravated during military service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for skin tags and herpes zoster lesions (claimed as a skin disorder) was withdrawn. The Board also found that the Veteran does not have current peripheral neuropathy, and thus cannot establish service connection on a secondary basis to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including consideration of whether an earlier effective date is warranted based on the Veteran's February 1, 1995 pension claim under 38 C.F.R. § 3.151(a).

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an extraschedular TDIU rating prior to July 13, 2004, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable and that there was no evidence of frequent hospitalization or marked interference with employment.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for his lumbosacral spine disorder and resultant radiculopathies was granted, with the lumbosacral spine disorder receiving a 20 percent rating effective from December 3, 2001. The radiculopathies of the left lower extremity received a 10 percent rating effective from December 3, 2001, and the radiculopathy of the right lower extremity also received a 10 percent rating effective from December 3, 2001.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities have been granted, but his initial evaluations remain at 10 percent. The Board has ordered a remand to obtain updated VA treatment records and conduct a new examination.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and temporary total evaluations were denied. The initial rating claims are pending.

The Board has determined that the appellant was not unemployable by reason of service-connected disability for the period from November 29, 2006, through March 27, 2008.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a detailed statement of the appellant's claimed herbicide exposure and requesting verification from the DoD inventory of herbicide operations. The VA also needs to schedule an examination for PTSD due to service as a sea rescue team member.

The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities was rated at 20 percent prior to May 16, 2008. Since then, ratings have been increased to 60 and 40 percent for left and right lower extremity conditions, respectively.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional notification and development, including providing VCAA notice, conducting an examination to determine the severity of his service-connected disabilities, and ensuring that all evidence has been considered.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a back disability and granted service connection for cardiovascular, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2.

The Board has found that the Veteran's neuropathy of the lower extremities is caused by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. Service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and Peripheral Neuropathy of the Upper Extremities, finding no current diagnosis of PTSD and noting conflicting evidence regarding the upper extremities.

The Board found that the Veteran's ulnar neuropathy was not caused by VA treatment, and thus denied his claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service, are not related to a service-connected disability, and may not be presumed to have been caused by exposure to herbicide agents in service. As such, the appeal was denied.

The Veteran's claim for PTSD was denied as there is no verified in-service stressor. The claim for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was also denied due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service, including exposure to herbicide agents.