Epilepsy & seizure disorders decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the veteran's current disabilities are not service-connected due to his own willful misconduct during service.

The Board found that the veteran does not have current residuals of Bell's palsy or a convulsive/seizure disorder linked to active service, and thus denied her claims for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's seizure disorder pre-existed service and was not aggravated by active duty, while his skull fracture in service did not result in a permanent disability. The seizures are presumed to have been caused by his schizophrenia.

The veteran's service-connected seizure disorder with headaches is not shown to have caused at least one major seizure in the last two years or at least two minor seizures in the last six months, thus warranting a 10% rating.

The Board has granted a rating of 20 percent for complex partial seizure disorder, a cognitive disorder with memory loss, and headaches due to traumatic brain injury from September 4, 1997, to May 31, 2000. A separate 10 percent rating is warranted for the cognitive disorder.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for seizure disorder, peripheral neuropathy, tumor, cysts and multiple osteoma, and recurrent meningitis due to Agent Orange exposure.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not make an informal claim for TDIU benefits prior to May 20, 1997 and therefore denied a request for an earlier effective date.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for seizures as residuals of a head injury due to lack of new and material evidence.

The claims for service connection for a seizure disorder and a psychiatric disorder were denied as new and material evidence was not submitted.

The veteran's major seizure disorder is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted based on her current condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected idiopathic epilepsy does not meet the criteria for an 80 percent evaluation from December 1, 2000 to the present.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to care for most of his daily personal needs or to protect himself from the hazards and dangers incident to his daily environment without the assistance of others, thus denying special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance by another person.

The Board determined that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the May 1952 rating decision for failing to grant a disability evaluation greater than 30 percent for the service-connected seizure disorder.

The veteran's claims for service connection were granted, but the ratings assigned are noncompensable or 10 percent. The cardiovascular disability claim was denied as not proximately due to a service-connected condition.

The veteran's seizure disorder is rated at 40 percent since June 19, 1996 and increased to 20 percent thereafter.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss and seizures, but granted service connection for tinnitus.

The Board has denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to a lack of evidence showing that any service-connected disability contributed substantially and materially to the veteran's death.

The Board has granted service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder, but the issue of service connection for a seizure disorder secondary to PTSD remains pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected schizophrenia warrants a 70 percent evaluation, with all reasonable doubt resolved in his favor.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions are not proximately due to or the result of his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and thus service connection for these conditions is denied.