Epilepsy & seizure disorders Board decisions

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for headaches, blackouts, memory loss, poor vision, and a seizure disorder. The issue of whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen claims of entitlement to service connection for other conditions is pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's brain cyst and partial complex seizure disorder are service-connected, resulting from shell fragment wounds sustained during World War II.

The Board found that the veteran did not have a seizure disorder or schizophrenia during service and denied his claims.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not permanently and totally preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment, as his combined disability rating is 30 percent.

The Board denied reopening the veteran's claim for service connection of a head disorder, including personality disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, headaches, residuals of head injury, and/or seizure disorder. The new evidence submitted since September 1998 is not considered material to reopen the claim.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that his seizures were not related to his military service and did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.

The Board determined that the veteran's seizure disorder existed prior to service and did not worsen during active duty, thus denying service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's discharge under other than honorable conditions did not constitute a bar to VA benefits, as his period of absence without official leave (AWOL) was less than 180 days and considered to be due to compelling circumstances.

The veteran's multiple nonservice-connected disabilities, including postoperative lumbar laminectomy, depressive disorder, and spinal stenosis of the cervical spine, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that he is entitled to a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.

The veteran's cognitive disorder, status post ruptured aneurysm, status post cerebral vascular accident, and seizure disorder are productive of such mental incapacity that he is prevented from contracting or managing his own affairs, including disbursement of funds without limitation. The Board finds the veteran incompetent for VA purposes.

The Board found new and material evidence, reopened the claim for service connection of a seizure disorder, but did not specify if it was granted or denied.

The Board has determined that the earliest effective date for the grant of TDIU is August 8, 1994 based on the veteran's testimony at a VA hearing indicating he was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.

The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for partial complex seizure disorder and visual disturbance, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability, were denied by the Board. The decision is final and cannot be reopened without new and material evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased rating of epilepsy and service connection for PTSD. The decision also confirmed a previous denial of an increased rating for epilepsy, maintaining the current 20% disability evaluation.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right leg disability, seizure disorder, and back disorder as not well grounded.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for his seizure disorder, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for organic brain syndrome with seizure disorder and rheumatic valvular heart disease, finding that there was no indication of these conditions in service and they first appeared many years after service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a seizure disorder, finding that his condition did not originate in or was aggravated by military service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a head injury, to include seizures, and an increased evaluation for schizophrenia, paranoid type. The case is being remanded for further development.

The veteran's claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is being remanded for additional development, including examination and review of the claims folder.