The Board denied the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities, finding that there is no evidence to support a secondary relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA physicians indicated that the Veteran's upper extremity symptoms are due to cervical spine problems rather than diabetes.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20073749
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection and initial rating claims has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and an effective date of August 13, 2019, for the grant of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for posttraumatic stress disorder, service connection for gallbladder disease and functional gastrointestinal disorders, and remanded claims for peripheral neuropathy, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and residuals of liver disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy to obtain a new VA medical opinion due to inadequate previous opinions.
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