Epilepsy & seizure disorders decisions — 2019

The Veteran's daughter is found to meet the criteria of a 'helpless child' due to her significant mental and physical disabilities, which have not improved since birth. The claim for recognition as a helpless child is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for increased rating of grand mal seizures and TDIU due to a possible worsening since the last VA examination. Additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling an examination, is required.

The Veteran's application to reopen his service connection for vascular disease was denied as new and material evidence was not submitted. The claim for ED is also denied.,Service connection for GAD with depressed features has been granted, but an effective date prior to March 15, 2012, is denied.,Service connection for tonic-clonic seizures with grand mal seizures and TBI are all denied as well, with no effective dates being granted.,The Veteran's initial rating for TBI was remanded due to the need for further evaluation.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to the need to verify the Veteran's National Guard service and obtain any associated examination reports and treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient compliance with previous remand directives regarding service connection for a seizure disorder. The issues are inextricably intertwined, and therefore both need to be addressed together.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a headache disorder, now claimed as secondary to grand mal seizure disorder, is denied because there is no current diagnosis of a headache disorder and the evidence does not establish a link between the headaches and his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for seizures has been reopened, but the Board finds that COPD and tinnitus were not related to his military service. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of tinnitus and effective dates for bilateral hearing loss have also been remanded.,Service connection was denied for COPD and sleep apnea.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions due to failure to schedule VA examinations. The case is returned to the RO for further development and consideration.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's seizure disorder is related to service, specifically his head injury in October 1965.

The Veteran's claim for a rating of 10 percent for hypertension is granted. The earlier effective date for hypertension remains denied. The Board has remanded the issues related to vertigo, fecal incontinence, urinary incontinence, brain damage (presumably due to hypertension), seizures, and memory loss.

The Board has remanded three issues: increased rating for chronic left hip strain, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), to include a seizure disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle degenerative joint disease. The claims are being remanded due to incomplete VA examinations and missing Social Security Administration records.

The Board has granted service connection for migraine headaches, but the issues of entitlement to service connection for seizure disability and fibromyalgia are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded the cases for a VA opinion on whether meningioma had its onset in service or was otherwise etiologically related to active service, including exposure to herbicide agents and gasoline.

The Veteran's seizure disability is granted a 60% rating, effective from the date of this decision. The hypoglossal cranial nerve disability remains at a 10% rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his military service and grants service connection for it. The appeals regarding seizure disability and lumbar spine disability are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of April 28, 2016 for the award of a 20 percent rating for his seizure disorder.,An effective date of April 28, 2016 is also granted for basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA).,TDIU is granted effective April 28, 2016.

The Veteran's initial claim for service connection for a seizure disorder was received on November 26, 2004, which is more than one year after his discharge from active service. Therefore, the effective date for this condition cannot be earlier than November 26, 2004.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination to determine if the Appellant became permanently incapable of self-support by reason of a mental or physical condition prior to attaining 18 years of age.

The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating and an earlier effective date were withdrawn at the Board hearing.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for organic brain disease was not addressed in the September 1985 rating decision, which granted service connection for seizures as residuals of his craniotomy.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him so helpless as to require the regular aid and attendance of another person.,The Veteran does not have additional right ankle disability proximately caused or aggravated by VA hospitalization and surgery in July 1990.