Thyroid disorder decisions — 2024

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, thyroid disease (claimed as hypothyroid), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and gout. The reasons include that these conditions are not shown to be related to active duty or inactive duty training, and there is no evidence of a nexus between the Veteran's service and his current disabilities.

The Veteran's chronic sinusitis is related to her time in service and granted.,Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, her hypothyroidism is at least as likely as not related to her time in service and granted.,The Veteran's endometriosis began during active service and granted.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for a thyroid disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to potential errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions and evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a formal medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's hypothyroidism is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, specifically thyroid cancer.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to errors in developing evidence related to herbicide agent exposure and PCB exposure. The Veteran is being asked to provide more information about her alleged exposures, obtain an Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER), prepare a TERA memo, and obtain medical opinions regarding the etiology of her claimed disabilities.

The Board has found errors in the duty to assist and remands both issues for further development. The Veteran's polyarthralgia is currently rated at 10 percent, but a new examination is needed to assess its severity. For his secondary service connection claim for hypothyroidism, a new VA medical opinion is required to address whether it was proximately due or caused by the service-connected polyarthralgia.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to a failure to provide VA examinations and a duty to assist error. The Veteran is seeking service connection for various conditions, including GERD, IBS, overactive bladder, headaches/migraines, and hypothyroidism, on secondary theories of entitlement.

The Board has decided to remand all of the Veteran's claims due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ must obtain her complete service personnel records, including those related to her Pennsylvania National Guard service and verify all active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty of training (INACDUTRA) dates.

The Veteran's service-connected hypothyroidism is granted, based on the presumption of exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II, hypothyroidism, prostate cancer, and Parkinson's disease due to exposure to chemical agents during active-duty service.,All five conditions were found to be more likely than not related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's thyroid disorder is related to her military service and grants her claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grants because her service-connected conditions do not meet the eligibility criteria under VA regulations.

The Board has granted service connection for hypothyroidism and an acquired psychiatric condition (claimed as PTSD with depression) due to in-service exposure, with the latter being linked to a witnessed vehicle crash during deployment.

The Veteran's anxiety, depressed mood, and lack of focus due to hypothyroidism are now rated at 50 percent, effective from the date of the January 2021 rating decision. Gastrointestinal symptoms related to hypothyroidism remain remanded for further review.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for thyroid disorder and sleep apnea due to potential exposure to toxins during service. The Veteran's MOS as a Petroleum Supply Specialist may have exposed him to toxic substances, including PCBs and dioxin. A VA examination is needed to determine if his thyroid disorder is related to these exposures.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on four different conditions (liver disability, eosinophilic colitis, myelofibrosis, and hypothyroidism) have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the appeal process.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypothyroidism as secondary to thyroid cancer due to a lack of service connection for the primary disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate findings in a previous VA examination regarding the severity and manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected hypothyroidism. The Veteran will be provided with a new VA examination to address these issues.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's thyroid disability, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to service and resolving reasonable doubt in his favor.

The Veteran's service connection claims for peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities, as well as upper extremities, erectile dysfunction, thyroid disability, skin cancer (involving the face, arms, legs, and back), and obstructive sleep apnea have been granted. The evidence submitted after the May 2023 denial supports these claims.