Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2020

The Veteran's service connection claims for congestive heart failure, sleep apnea, headaches, and high blood pressure have all been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or a link to service.,Service connection has also not been granted for spinal stenosis, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has granted service connection for right ulnar nerve neuropathy and remanded the issue of a temporary total evaluation for convalescence following surgery in July 2019.

The Board has denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions in the record.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for SMC at the housebound rate is denied as he does not meet the criteria for a single service-connected disability rated as total and additional disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records from his active duty period and one year after discharge. The Veteran needs to provide additional treatment records from the Chicago VAMC.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the severity of the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy and to obtain any outstanding VA treatment records. The case will be remanded for these purposes.

The claim for service connection for a prostate condition, diagnosed as benign prostate hypertrophy, status post TURP with history of chronic urinary retention is dismissed. The claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities are remanded due to new evidence received since the March 2016 rating decision.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, diabetes mellitus, and various knee and foot conditions, effectively preclude him from all forms of substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that the criteria for a TDIU have been met due to the combined effect of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and restoration of a disability rating, as well as his claim for TDIU have been referred back to the AOJ due to incomplete development. The AOJ is required to consider all newly acquired evidence since the February 2016 SOC including VA treatment records added in March 2019, and readjudicate the claims.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is rated at 20 percent prior to September 19, 2014 and from that date. The Board denied an increased rating for the condition.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions have been dismissed as the issues were withdrawn during a personal hearing.,Issues such as right knee disorder, left knee disorder, wrist carpal tunnel syndromes, upper and lower extremity neuropathies, nerve spasms in back, foot nerve spasms, fatigue, PTSD, irritable bowel syndrome, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and TDIU have all been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeals during a personal hearing.

The Veteran's request to reopen his finally disallowed claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss was granted. A rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD is granted, effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the left trigeminal nerve was granted a 50% disability rating effective February 5, 2019. His GERD with duodenitis and gastritis was not rated higher.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD with anxiety, low back strain with L-5 spinal stenosis, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity are denied. The claim to reopen entitlement to service connection for right and left knee disabilities is granted.

The Board denied the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities, finding that there is no evidence to support a secondary relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.

The Veteran's multiple service-connected conditions, including renal disease with hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremities, have resulted in a combined rating of at least 80 percent since May 2011, and currently 90 percent. The Board has granted TDIU based on these service-connected disabilities.

The Board dismissed the appeals because the Veteran died before a decision could be made on his claims.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for sciatic nerve neuropathy and femoral nerve radiculopathy were denied as the evidence did not support a higher rating than 20 percent for left lower extremity sciatic nerve neuropathy, 20 percent for right lower extremity sciatic nerve neuropathy, or 10 percent for right femoral nerve radiculopathy.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease and PTSD, render him unable to obtain and retain substantially gainful employment. As a result, the Board has granted his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, have rendered him unemployable from December 10, 2009. However, due to his non-service-connected back disability, a TDIU rating prior to March 1, 2011 is denied. The Board has also found that the Veteran's service-connected diabetes does not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent.