Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeals have been withdrawn by her representative prior to the Board making a decision.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to care for his daily needs without requiring the regular aid and attendance of another person, warranting SMC based on aid and attendance prior to May 10, 2017.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his military service, including exposure to jet fuel and other chemicals. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions began in or were aggravated by active duty.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have exposure to herbicides during his service in Korea or Vietnam, and thus could not establish presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure.

The Board found that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, neuropathy, and bladder cancer are not related to service or herbicide exposure. The claims for these conditions were denied.

The Veteran is entitled to an effective date of July 31, 2008 for the grant of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities were denied. The Veteran was not granted any higher ratings, with the exception that his rating for the right lower extremity was increased to 40 percent on October 3, 2016.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional procedural and evidentiary development, including scheduling VA examinations to evaluate the current severity of his service-connected disabilities and to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder symptoms.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities are being remanded due to outstanding private treatment records and inconsistencies in examination findings.

The Board denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that there was no credible evidence of service in Vietnam and thus no basis for presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii).

The Veteran's left ulnar and median nerve neuropathy is currently rated at 50 percent, but no higher. The mood disorder has been rated as 30 percent prior to October 15, 2010; 10 percent from October 15, 2010 to October 10, 2016; and 50 percent since October 11, 2016.,The Veteran's TDIU claim prior to October 11, 2016 is still pending.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to incomplete records and the need for further development. The issues of increased ratings for anxiety disorder and entitlement to TDIU are inextricably intertwined.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for peripheral neuropathy and TDIU have been withdrawn due to the grant of Individual Unemployability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment since February 1, 2014.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for service-connected depression, right upper extremity neuropathy associated with type II diabetes mellitus, and left upper extremity neuropathy associated with type II diabetes mellitus have been denied due to the Veteran's failure to report for scheduled VA examinations.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for various conditions, but the case has been remanded due to a lack of available records and the need for further medical examinations.

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities, finding that the severity of the Veteran's conditions is at most mild.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to verify his claimed stressors and obtain all relevant medical records.

The Veteran's service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities are currently rated at 10 percent each, with no higher ratings warranted based on current symptomatology.,Service connection for hypertension is granted as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations were denied as the evidence did not show that her service-connected conditions warranted higher ratings.