The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for various diabetic complications has been dismissed due to his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of his appeal, making the claims moot.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II with erectile dysfunction, diabetic retinopathy, left eye, left lower extremity sciatic neuropathy, right lower extremity sciatic neuropathy, left lower extremity femoral neuropathy, right lower extremity femoral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20005200
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20005200.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate notice and an inadequately supported medical opinion, requiring further review of eligibility for PCAFC benefits based on need for personal care services related to service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to May 23, 2024.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection of right and left lower extremity sciatic neuropathy.
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