Peripheral neuropathy Board decisions

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of his conditions.

The Veteran's HIV-related conditions are being remanded for further evaluation, including service connection for secondary psychiatric disability, bilateral hip and shoulder disorders, migraine headaches, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, hypertension, and testicular hypofunction.

The Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is granted. However, the claim itself remains denied as there is no evidence that the condition was incurred in or aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that further development is necessary to determine the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, which may be related to his presumed herbicide exposure during service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to an administrative error in submitting a modernized review system form instead of a legacy one. The Veteran must file a timely VA Form 9 if he wishes to continue his appeal.

The Board denied a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for the period before December 20, 2015, finding that the Veteran was capable of substantially gainful employment during this time.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease, rendered him unable to care for himself without regular aid and attendance from his wife.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities due to herbicide exposure, as secondary to a service-connected lung disability. The VA examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected lung disability.

The Veteran's service connection claims for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities have been granted. However, his claims for a bilateral foot disability, heart disability, lung disability, back disability, and psychiatric disability are remanded.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, including a back disability and its secondary effects on other conditions, are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development.

The Board has granted service connection for scars on the left foot (toes) as secondary to his service-connected exostosis of feet, but denied service connection for right and left lower extremity sciatica and peripheral neuropathy as secondary to his service-connected exostosis of feet.

The Veteran's CLL, diabetes, GVHD of the lips, and bilateral neuropathy are granted as service-connected due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Okinawa. The Board found reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant for all conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him so helpless as to be in need of the regular aid and attendance of another individual, thus SMC based on aid and attendance is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral lower extremity polyneuropathy was not caused by or aggravated by VA treatment, and thus compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to October 2, 2019, for service connection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities. The Veteran also had his eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 denied due to not meeting the permanent total service-connected disability requirement.

The Veteran's prostate cancer residuals are not entitled to a higher disability rating than currently assigned. The restoration of the 20 percent ratings for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the femoral nerve in both lower extremities is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him so helpless as to be in need of the regular aid and attendance of another individual, thus SMC based on aid and attendance is denied.

The Veteran's appeals for effective dates and ratings have been dismissed as he has withdrawn all his pending appeals before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Board has restored service connection for right upper extremity, left upper extremity, left lower extremity, and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to the original grants of service connection being based on honorable service and not fraud.

An effective date of July 18, 2018 is granted for the grant of a 40 percent rating for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities and right upper extremity, as well as a 30 percent rating for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity.,An effective date of July 3, 2019 is granted for the grant of TDIU (Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability).