Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2018

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including right knee disability, arthritis of the right knee, bilateral tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, back condition, and peripheral neuropathy, have been denied as there is no evidence of in-service injury or disease that caused or aggravated these conditions.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issue of entitlement to service connection for a disability affecting the lower extremities, including a bilateral leg disability manifested by weakness and pain or neuropathy.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including ischemic heart disease, PTSD, peripheral neuropathy of the lower and upper extremities, diabetes mellitus, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board granted his claim for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has withdrawn the appeal for service connection of upper extremity peripheral neuropathy and remanded the issues regarding lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to herbicide exposure. The case is being returned to VA for further development.

The Veteran's Guillain-Barre syndrome with partial recovery and presumptive chronic inflammatory dysmyelinating polyradicular neuropathy is considered to have started during his active duty for training (ACDUTRA) service, which was in the line of duty. The Board granted service connection based on this finding.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus and remanded the issues of service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hip disability and the assignment of TDIU prior to September 4, 2015. The Veteran's current hip disability is not related to his service-connected disabilities or an in-service injury.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy and remanded the issue of secondary service connection for hypertension.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hip disability and migraine headaches due to a lack of evidence of current disabilities. The remaining issues have been remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in permanent loss of use of one or both feet, so he is denied an automobile allowance or adaptive equipment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since closing his business in 2011, thus granting TDIU.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the merits have been remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and opinion regarding his claimed conditions. The issues include tinnitus, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the left arm, peripheral neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities, low back pain, hearing loss in both ears, carpal tunnel syndrome and radiculopathy, vision problems, and headaches.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including gastrointestinal disturbances, diabetes mellitus type II, headache disability, sleep disability (claimed as sleep disturbances), peripheral neuropathy in multiple extremities, anxiety disorder and depressive disorder. The reasons given were that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of these conditions or they were not related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records from his federal disability retirement and Social Security Administration benefits applications.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of left and right lower neuropathy for further examination and evaluation due to conflicting medical evidence. The Veteran's service connection claims are based on direct evidence rather than a presumption, secondary condition, or other theory.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity as secondary to diabetes mellitus Type II. The Veteran's hypertension was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes, and there is no evidence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity.

The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for retroperitoneal fibrosis, swollen testes, and peripheral neuropathy due to herbicide exposure. The effective date of service connection will be determined based on when the Veteran first filed a claim.

The Board is remanding the cases due to incomplete verification of in-service herbicide exposure. The Veteran must provide additional deck logs for specific dates.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as his residuals of a fracture of the cervical spine do not warrant an increased rating, and he was granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity secondary to this condition. The effective date for major depressive disorder has been set at January 20, 2012.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for updated evaluations of his service-connected left ankle Charcot foot, diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The VA will request any additional medical records from 2010 onwards and schedule examinations to assess the current severity of these conditions.