The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for diabetic retinopathy and for increased evaluations for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities. The RO continued a 20 percent evaluation for diabetes mellitus and granted service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy with noncompensable ratings.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of diabetic retinopathy and denied service connection based on lack of evidence supporting the claim. For the increased evaluations, the Board noted that the veteran's diabetes was poorly controlled despite various treatments including insulin, but did not meet criteria for higher ratings as his symptoms were consistent with a 20 percent evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 30, 2004
- Citation
- 0424017
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0424017.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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