Other conditions decisions — 2001

The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC based on service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that no new and material evidence was submitted prior to June 23, 1994.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied the veteran's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of improved disability pension benefits. The decision stated that the fault in creating the overpayment was on the part of the veteran, who failed to promptly report a change in his unreimbursed medical expenses. Recovery would not be against equity and good conscience as it would not result in undue hardship or defeat the purpose of the benefit.

The RO denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of death and for accrued benefits, and her appeal was not timely filed.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral defective hearing, finding no evidence of hearing loss in service and concluding that his current hearing loss is not related to service.

The veteran is entitled to educational assistance benefits under Chapter 1606 as of December 14, 1998. The effective date for payment is one year prior to the receipt of his application.

The Board found that the portion of an overpayment of pension benefits in the calculated amount of $220 attributable to the period from January 1999 through August 1999 was not properly created. The remaining portion, in the amount of $109, is waived due to equity and good conscience.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 10 percent evaluation of his service-connected coccyx disability was denied as there was no evidence showing the condition warranted such a rating prior to March 6, 2000.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for pilonidal cyst due to lack of evidence linking the condition to his military service.

The veteran's failure to notify the VA of his spouse's earned income resulted in an overpayment of improved disability pension benefits. The Board found that this was due to bad faith on the part of the veteran, and therefore denied waiver of recovery.

The veteran's claim for reimbursement or payment of medical expenses incurred on July 7, 2000 at Memorial Hospital West Volusia is being remanded due to the absence of certain records in the claims file.

The Board found that the veteran's erectile dysfunction was not caused by the VA-provided transurethral resections of the prostate in 1980, and thus denied compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The veteran's claim for reimbursement or payment of medical services received during his hospitalization at a non-VA facility is denied because the VA was feasibly available to treat him and he did not have prior authorization from appropriate VA personnel.

The Board has determined that a timely substantive appeal was not filed with respect to the issue of service connection for a nervous disorder, and thus the claim is dismissed.

The veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Mease Dunedin Hospital from April 27, 1999 through April 30, 1999 is denied as the criteria for payment were not met.

The Board denied the veteran's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of improved disability pension benefits due to bad faith on his part in failing to report his spouse's receipt of regular Social Security benefits, which resulted in a loss to the government.

The Board determined that the appellant could not be recognized as a valid widow of the deceased veteran for purposes of entitlement to VA death benefits due to lack of continuous cohabitation following their divorce in 1984.

The veteran has withdrawn his appeal regarding the overpayment of nonservice-connected pension benefits, making the issue moot.

The veteran's organic mental disease, identified as Alzheimer's disease, is found to be aggravated by his service-connected hypertension.

The veteran's panic disorder with agoraphobia and undifferentiated somatoform disorder renders him demonstrably unable to obtain or retain employment, warranting a total evaluation. The effective date for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea is denied as it stems from a claim filed on April 12, 1999. The earlier effective date for the total evaluation based upon individual unemployability is also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's multiple myeloma was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor is it related to her service-connected pernicious anemia. The issues of increased disability ratings for pernicious anemia and service connection for multiple myeloma were denied.