Other conditions decisions — 2006

The Board has granted the appellant's claim, recognizing her as the surviving spouse of the veteran for VA benefit purposes.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip replacement, finding that there is no evidence linking it to his service-connected bilateral knee and left hip conditions.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than April 28, 2003 for the grant of service connection for a left eye disorder under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to lack of evidence of a formal or informal claim within one year of the VA treatment in 1967.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and conducting a VA examination.

The Board denied the veteran's request to recognize M.B and J.B as adopted children for VA purposes, finding that their natural parents did not fully relinquish custody.

The Board determined that the deceased's service with the Philippine Guerilla and Regular Philippine Army prior to July 1, 1946 does not qualify for VA non-service-connected pension benefits.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA non-service-connected disability pension benefits due to a lack of qualifying service.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for non-service-connected disability pension benefits due to a lack of qualifying active military service, finding that his service with the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Regular Philippine Army did not meet the legal requirements for such benefits.

The Board has determined that the appellant's deceased spouse did not have qualifying service as a veteran, and therefore does not meet the basic eligibility requirements for VA death benefits.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed because he died during the pendency of his appeal.

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for recognition as the deceased veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of applying for VA DIC and accrued benefits, but granted it for death pension benefit purposes. The appeal regarding death pension benefits is denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further action, including providing representation and allowing submission of a VA Form 646 (Statement of Accredited Representative in Appealed Case). The veteran's claim will be returned to the RO via the Appeals Management Center.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative changes of the spine, finding that these conditions are at least as likely as not due to or aggravated by the veteran's service-connected left leg disorder. The TDIU claim is also granted.

The veteran's application for VA health care enrollment was received after the deadline, and he does not meet the eligibility criteria based on his income or service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred by the veteran on May 24, 2004 due to a lack of evidence showing that VA facilities were not feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand or obtain prior VA authorization would have been reasonable.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for scheduling a Travel Board hearing due to the appellant's request. The appeal is not about service connection issues.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected lower urinary tract voiding dysfunction characterized by urinary incontinence, effective February 22, 2002.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for his eye disability, including cataracts and retinal detachment. The decision is based on a finding that there was no direct link between the current eye disabilities and military service.

The Board determined that the veteran's essential tremor was not incurred or aggravated during his periods of active duty and is not presumed to have been incurred due to service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected acute bacterial endocarditis with mitral valve replacement does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 60 percent.