Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether in-service injuries contributed to current conditions.

The Board has denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed right lower extremity neuropathy, left lower extremity neuropathy, right upper extremity neuropathy, and left upper extremity neuropathy as they are not related to his military service or herbicide agent exposure. The claim for neck and throat cancer was also denied as it is not presumed to be due to herbicide agent exposure.

The Board has found that service connection for diabetes mellitus is not warranted due to lack of in-service onset or continuity of symptomatology, and the Veteran's exposure to herbicides could not be verified.,Service connection for bilateral upper extremity neuropathy was also denied as there is no evidence showing a nexus between the condition and service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding his claimed conditions and their relationship to military service, particularly exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II has been granted service connection based on presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty at Eglin Air Force Base. The Board also found that the Veteran's bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.,The Veteran's hair loss condition remains under review as there is insufficient evidence to determine its relationship with service.

The Veteran's back disability, right lower extremity neuropathy, and left lower extremity neuropathy have been granted initial ratings of 20 percent each since August 30, 2010. The TDIU claim from August 30, 2010 to May 3, 2011 was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional information regarding his work history and for extra-schedular consideration of TDIU prior to March 25, 2022.

The Board has granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities, finding that these conditions are proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for CIDP due to herbicide exposure, finding that there was no evidence of a relationship between his CIDP and his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric and bilateral peripheral neuropathy disabilities. The decision is based on a private medical opinion that found the Veteran's sleep apnea was caused by fragmented sleep due to his service-connected conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities as secondary to diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, diverticulitis, visual disorder (dry eye syndrome, cataracts, ocular hypertension), liver disorder (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), and gout all as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus. The remaining issues are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence. The claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities were reopened based on a medical opinion linking the condition to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for cataracts was denied as it is not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy in both upper and lower extremities due to conflicting medical opinions regarding the etiology of the condition. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange is presumed, but a new VA examination is needed to clarify the relationship between his neuropathy and this exposure.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and additional development is required.

The Board denied service connection for neuropathy of the left lower extremity (LLE), right lower extremity (RLE), left upper extremity (LUE), and right upper extremity (RUE). The Board also denied service connection for a neck condition and a back condition.,Service connection was not granted for any of the claimed conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiomegaly and congestive heart failure, stroke/cerebral vascular accident, diabetic nephropathy, voiding dysfunction, bowel disturbances (upper and lower extremities), neuropathy, right upper extremity muscle weakness, neuropathy, right lower extremity muscle weakness, diabetic neuropathy of the right upper extremity, diabetic neuropathy of the right lower extremity, diabetic neuropathy of the left upper extremity, and diabetic neuropathy of the left lower extremity are being remanded for further development.,The Veteran is currently in receipt of a 100 percent disability rating for cardiomegaly and congestive heart failure and stroke/cerebral vascular accident.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus type II was granted, with the PACT Act presumption. The heart disorder and peripheral neuropathy claims were remanded.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development due to incomplete records and insufficient medical opinions. The Veteran's high blood pressure claim is being remanded because VA treatment records may contain relevant information from Dr. S., but these records have not been obtained. For the left leg disability, the opinion provided by the VA examiner was deemed inadequate as it did not consider the reported in-service knee pain.

The Board has remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for right upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting the median nerve, left upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting the median, radial, and ulnar nerves, right lower extremity sciatic nerve diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity femoral nerve diabetic peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity sciatic nerve diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and left lower extremity femoral nerve diabetic peripheral neuropathy due to insufficient evidence in the record.

The Board has granted service connection for bladder cancer, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy. The appeal is dismissed as these benefits have been granted.