Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back disorder, bilateral knee disorders, and peripheral neuropathy of the extremities due to outstanding treatment records and a VA examination.

The Veteran's depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and tension headache disability are all found to be due to his service-connected migratory polyarthralgia.,Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to unclear information about his exposure to herbicides during naval service. Additional development is needed, including verification of his service within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and effective dates have been dismissed.,Effective date of the 70% anxiety disorder rating is denied.

The Veteran's claims for diabetes mellitus type II, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, heart disability (stent placement), lumbar degenerative disc disease, and traumatic brain injury residuals are being remanded due to new evidence suggesting potential exposure to herbicides during service. The Board will determine if this exposure qualifies him for presumptive service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, coronary artery disease, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and peripheral vascular disease were denied as the evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation throughout the appeal period, and his TDIU claim is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, but denied an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II and other service-connected conditions have been rated appropriately. The Board finds that the Veteran is not entitled to a higher rating for his diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a back disability, hypertension, benign prostatic hypertrophy, left upper extremity neuropathy, right upper extremity neuropathy, and depressive disorder have been granted. However, the initial rating assigned is zero percent (noncompensable) for hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 20 percent for diabetes mellitus, type II was denied. The Board also found that the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 9, 2015, due to service-connected disabilities, should be remanded as it does not meet the schedular criteria but may potentially qualify for extraschedular consideration.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (diabetes mellitus type 2, bilateral retinopathy, peripheral bilateral lower extremity neuropathy, and depression) render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has granted the Veteran's TDIU claim.

The Veteran's left foot and toe symptoms are considered manifestations of the already service-connected neuropathy of the left foot.,Service connection for a back disorder, neck disorder, and left ankle disorder is remanded.

The Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations and service connection have been dismissed as she has withdrawn her claims.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection due to herbicide exposure, including obtaining updated treatment records and the Agent Orange examination report.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not currently have left upper extremity or bilateral feet peripheral neuropathy, and thus service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connection due to in-service acoustic trauma.,Service connection for a head scar is denied. The Board finds insufficient evidence to support the claim.,Service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity is remanded due to lack of sufficient evidence linking it to service exposure.,Service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity is also remanded for similar reasons.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type 2 due to Agent Orange exposure, gout, hypertension, kidney dysfunction, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted.,Service connection has also been remanded for the issues of TDIU.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, erectile dysfunction secondary to diabetes mellitus, hypertension secondary to diabetes mellitus, Parkinson’s disease as a result of herbicide exposure, and peripheral neuropathy due to herbicide exposure. The reasons include the lack of actual or presumptive exposure to herbicides during service.