Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2020

The Board dismissed all issues of appeal, including those related to hypertension and earlier effective dates for service-connected conditions.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection of left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, which were previously remanded by the Board.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of verification of his claimed exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The Veteran served on temporary duty orders (TDY) in Vietnam, but there is no evidence confirming these TDY assignments.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for CIDP due to a lack of a VA examination and because the private medical opinion is insufficient. The examiner must provide an opinion on whether CIDP is related to service, especially vaccinations received in service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional medical opinions regarding need for convalescence following surgeries and service connection for peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right foot condition other than his service-connected peripheral neuropathy, finding that there is no evidence to support a nexus between the current diagnosis of onychomycosis and either active duty service or his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his sciatic nerve neuropathy and service connection for restless leg syndrome are remanded. His claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability is also remanded.

The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities is rated at 30 percent for each affected limb, with a combined rating of 60 percent. The decision grants increased ratings for all four limbs.

The Board denied service connection for Barrett’s esophagus, blood disorder (anemia), diabetes mellitus type II, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy. The reasons provided were that the evidence did not support a finding of in-service onset or relationship to an in-service injury or disease.,The Board also denied service connection for these conditions on a direct basis, as there was no showing of chronicity within presumptive periods or continuity of symptomatology.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is not related to his service.,Service connection was denied for erectile dysfunction.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as he only required restricted diet and one or more daily injections of insulin.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as there was no evidence that it had its onset during or within one year after his active service, and it is not otherwise related to such service.

The Veteran's service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities has been rated based on the severity of symptoms and nerve involvement.,Initial ratings in excess of 10 percent were denied for both upper extremities prior to January 31, 2012. Effective dates earlier than November 20, 2006, for TDIU were also denied.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as service-connected, and he is awarded a TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity is currently rated at 20 percent, effective February 27, 2014. The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity remains rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates were denied. The compensable rating for the surgical scar status/post CABG surgery was not granted, while the diabetes mellitus (DM) and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy (PN) were rated at 20 percent.,Effective dates prior to March 7, 2012, for service connection of diabetic PN RLE and LLE were denied.

The Board denied service connection for alopecia and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to active service or herbicide exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than November 16, 2017 for service connection have been denied.,The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus has been remanded.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left upper and right upper extremity diabetic neuropathy have been remanded.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for erectile dysfunction has been remanded.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, BPH, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), HTN, glaucoma, and retinopathy have been remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for Parkinson’s disease has been remanded.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral lower extremity neuropathy and a rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus type II, finding that the Veteran did not have these conditions during the appeal period.