Epilepsy & seizure disorders decisions — 2016

The Veteran's service connection claim for TBI and its residuals is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis or relationship to his active service.

The Board found that the Veteran's narcolepsy and temporal lobe seizures did not manifest during service or are otherwise related to service, thus denying service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's seizure disorder is rated at 80 percent since July 1, 2014. The Board also granted TDIU based on the Veteran's service-connected seizure disorder.

The Board found that the Veteran's seizure disorder and schizophrenia were not caused or aggravated by his service, nor may they be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by service. Therefore, service connection for both conditions was denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's epileptogenic cerebral dysfunction was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and may not be presumed to have been so incurred. The claim for peripheral artery disease is remanded due to insufficient development.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are service-connected, while hypertension, a seizure disorder, and peptic ulcer disease are not. The Veteran's type II diabetes mellitus is rated at 10 percent.

The Board has restored the Veteran's post-traumatic seizure disorder rating from 100 percent to 80 percent effective August 1, 2010. The reduction was not proper due to an actual change in condition that did not reflect improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.

The Board found that the Veteran's current seizure disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by military service and is not etiologically related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's seizure disorder clearly and unmistakably existed prior to service. The Veteran contends that his preexisting condition was aggravated by active service, including in-service hospitalizations and fear of going to war with a seizure disorder. Additional development is required before the underlying claim can be adjudicated on the merits.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a benign growth of the brain and epilepsy have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty regarding whether the appellant's period of ACDUTRA was federal service or state-controlled. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a seizure disorder, but has found some evidence favorable to reopening the claim. The Veteran's statements regarding the onset of symptoms are not considered material because they do not suggest an etiological relationship between the Veteran's service and current seizure disorder.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to untranslated Spanish medical records and missing VA treatment records.

The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against finding a seizure disorder, memory loss, or left shoulder disability was incurred in service or related to any service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for epilepsy, resulting in a denial.

The Veteran's seizure disorder is permanent in nature and renders it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a total and permanent disability rating.

The Board has determined that the August 2005 rating decision contained clear and unmistakable error, thus reversing it. The Veteran's cause of death was an epileptic seizure, which is service-connected due to the presumption of soundness.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of depression, seizure disorder, and TBI have been granted. The Veteran is now service-connected for these conditions.,An extraschedular rating has been assigned for the Veteran's tension headaches.

The Veteran's TDIU was granted effective April 20, 1998. The Board found that the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability occurred for purposes of assigning an earlier effective date.

The Board finds that the Veteran's seizure disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by his military service, and it may not be presumed to have been.