The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for service connection and increased ratings is dismissed or denied.,The Veteran's claim of an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for bilateral cataracts is denied.,The Veteran's claims of earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are denied.,Increased ratings for left and right upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are remanded.

The deciding factor: There was no evidence that service connection for right eye diabetic retinopathy was severed, and the appeal is moot as there is no remaining justiciable case or controversy with respect to this issue.,The Veteran did not file a formal or informal claim prior to October 3, 2016, for service connection for cataracts. The grant of service connection is the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.,There was no evidence that service connection for right and left upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy was ever severed before July 6, 2009, and the claims are denied as there is no earlier formal or informal claim for these conditions prior to this date.,The Veteran's claims of entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy were remanded due to insufficient evidence.

Claimed conditions

right diabetic retinopathy, bilateral cataracts, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

December 30, 2020

Citation

20081709

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 20081709.