The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and effective dates have been dismissed due to his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran passed away during the pendency of his appeal, making it impossible for the Board to consider the merits of his claims.
- Claimed conditions
- left upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20003293
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a VA neurological examination to determine the nature and severity of the service-connected right lower extremity and left lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
- Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for various conditions associated with a stroke, including obstructive sleep apnea, depression, and diabetes mellitus type II.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for bipolar and related disorders, but remanded claims for service connection for hypertension, diabetes, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and asthma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted increased ratings for right and left upper extremity neuropathy, right and left lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and hypothyroidism, as well as a TDIU from May 1, 2018 to September 19, 2019. The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, type II, kidney disease stage III with hypertension (kidney disease with hypertension), tinnitus, and service connection for migraines.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.