Peripheral neuropathy decisions — 2024

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including hypertension and multiple forms of neuropathy associated with CAD, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. His TDIU claim is granted.

The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) for further development, including obtaining updated medical records and clarifying the Veteran's work history.

[object Object],[object Object]

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hand condition, claimed as peripheral neuropathy, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between his conditions and either his service or his service-connected dermatitis.

The Veteran's hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are all granted as service connected.,Dextrocardia is denied due to not being a disability for VA compensation purposes.

The Veteran's appeals for higher ratings for his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder with TBI and facial neuropathy affecting cranial nerve VII were denied. The rating for the psychiatric condition remains at 50 percent, while the facial condition is rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates for service connection and SMC were denied. The earliest possible effective dates are January 27, 2017.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for peripheral neuropathy in both the left and right lower extremities.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for prostate cancer due to a lack of relevant medical records. The Veteran's other claims for knee and peripheral neuropathy disabilities are granted based on new evidence.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of increased rating for diabetes mellitus and TDIU due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran needs an additional VA examination to assess his type II diabetes mellitus, including any complications such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is granted with a disability rating of 40 percent for each leg.,The Veteran's eye disability (cataracts) and headaches are remanded as the evidence is insufficient to determine their etiology.

Service connection for right upper extremity neuropathy, left upper extremity neuropathy, right lower extremity neuropathy, and left lower extremity neuropathy is denied.,Service connection for a scar of colon removal as secondary to rectal adenocarcinoma is denied.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for left lower extremity polyneuropathy from January 28, 2019 was denied as the evidence did not show marked muscle atrophy or complete paralysis.

The Board denied service connection for right upper extremity and left upper extremity neuropathy, finding no evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of the conditions and insufficient medical opinion to support a nexus between current nerve disorders and service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left leg peripheral neuropathy, finding that it manifested during his active service and is related to a surgery he underwent in the groin area.

The Veteran is seeking earlier effective dates for various service-connected conditions, but the Board finds that no such effective dates are warranted based on the evidence of record.,For his back disability, the Veteran seeks an earlier effective date due to CUE in a March 2012 rating decision. The Board found no clear and unmistakable error.

The Veteran's disability evaluations for traumatic right spinal accessory neuropathy and right upper extremity radiculopathy, as well as cervical spine IVDS, were reduced. The Board has restored the original ratings of 40% and 20%, respectively.,The reduction in disability evaluation was not proper due to lack of improvement in the Veteran's condition.

The Veteran's claim for SMC based on loss of use of his left hand is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an opinion addressing the combined effects of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and a higher level of SMC were denied. The effective date for the separate noncompensable ratings for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy of the illio-inguinal nerve was set at February 8, 2023.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes mellitus, left foot neuropathy, right foot neuropathy, and right upper leg neuropathy due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. The Veteran's service records do not indicate any exposure to herbicide agents or other potential causative factors.