Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2024

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and peripheral neuropathy in the Veteran's upper and lower extremities under the PACT Act, which grants presumptive service connection based on exposure to herbicide agents during active duty.

The Board has granted service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and dismissed the claims for Peripheral Neuropathy of the Left Upper Extremity and Right Upper Extremity.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes and bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to an error in providing notice of the right to a hearing before the RO.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions were denied.,No specific reasons or bases are provided in the decision summary.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the grant of TDIU and DEA. The Board has remanded these claims due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU was initially granted with an effective date of June 27, 2023, but later amended to September 9, 2021. He is now seeking earlier consideration on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied service connection for lymphadenitis, sleep apnea, Barrett's esophagus, tinea corporis, seizures disorder, neuropathy and neuromyelitis, and type II diabetes mellitus due to lack of evidence showing an in-service event or disease.,The Veteran did not provide sufficient evidence to support his assertions that these conditions were related to service, including exposure to radiation or heavy lifting.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating above 40 percent for peripheral neuropathy of the LUE with LUE weakness prior to September 10, 2019 are being remanded due to procedural issues.

The Veteran's ambulance transportation on April 5, 2020 was for an acute UTI and met the prudent layperson definition of a medical emergency. The VA facility was not feasibly available, and the Veteran did not have other health insurance to cover the ambulance transportation. Therefore, payment or reimbursement is granted.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and will be reconsidered by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional development.,The Veteran seeks earlier effective dates for his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II, right lower extremity (RLE) symmetric distal sciatic polyneuropathy, and left lower extremity (LLE) symmetric distal sciatic polyneuropathy. The Board finds that the VA examinations conducted prior to the March 2021 rating decision were inadequate for determining the severity of his diabetes mellitus type II disability.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction and denied earlier effective dates for service connection, SMC, TDIU, and DEA benefits. However, the Board granted effective dates of June 6, 2017, for the grant of service connection for peripheral neuropathy in all extremities.

The Veteran's asthma claim is being remanded due to new evidence received after the final February 2007 rating decision.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including anxiety and depression, is granted. The Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disability is related to service.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and TDIU was denied. The appellant is not eligible to the direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the March 2021 rating decision.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the lack of records from his lumbar spine surgery at a non-VA community care provider, which may have resulted in substandard care. The VA must obtain and associate these records with the claims file.

The Board has determined that the claims for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to conflicting diagnoses and etiology opinions which have not been reconciled.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremities disability, including radiculopathy and neuropathy, is being remanded for further examination to determine its etiology.,The restoration of the 60 percent initial rating for the Veteran's coronary artery disease (CAD) remains granted.,TDIU based on service-connected disabilities prior to November 4, 2020, is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, left and right lower extremity neuropathy, as well as bilateral knee conditions. The decision is based on the Veteran's assertions of in-service onset and continuity of symptoms.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, which is a key issue in both service connection claims. The TDIU claim is also remanded as it is intertwined with the service connection issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment, thus the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability is denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of various service-connected conditions, except CFS, BPPV, and GERD, were denied. The effective dates for the awards of service connection are not earlier than January 26, 2016.