Other conditions decisions — 2011

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain a VA examination for her heart condition and chest pain, as well as to issue a Statement of the Case on her claim of service connection for fibromyalgia.

The appellant is not eligible for VA Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code due to exceeding the age limit of 26 years old at the time his father's application was filed.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Southcrest Hospital from July 11, 2007 to July 12, 2007 is denied as the condition was not service-connected and there was no emergency medical situation.

The Veteran's appeal involves a claim for an increased rating for ulcerative colitis and a TDIU due to this condition. The RO has been directed to obtain all outstanding VA medical records, including those from the East Orange VAMC, and give the Veteran another opportunity to provide information and/or evidence pertinent to his claims. If any additional evidence is obtained, it should be associated with the claims file.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and need for additional evidence, including undated VA outpatient treatment records regarding BUN and creatinine levels.

The Veteran's request for extension of his delimiting date for VA Chapter 30 educational benefits beyond December 20, 2007 is denied as there is no evidence showing a physical or mental disability prevented him from initiating or completing the chosen education program.

The Veteran's claim for a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund was denied as his eligibility is barred by law due to a prior forfeiture of VA benefits based on fraud.

The Board finds that the claimant's application for burial benefits and plot allowance was timely filed due to the incompetence of the Veteran's surviving spouse, D.S., during the 2-year period following her husband's death.

The Board finds that the Veteran's Osgood-Schlatter's disease pre-existed service and was likely aggravated by military training, thus granting service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's condition required inpatient treatment at a private facility due to his unstable state and lack of available VA facilities. The claim is granted as all conditions for payment under the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act have been met.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for strabismus, diplopia and bilateral amblyopia. The evidence submitted since the September 1978 denial was not new and material.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a videoconference hearing. The issues of entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity varicose veins and an increased evaluation for right lower extremity varicose veins are pending.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant, and no jurisdiction remains for adjudicating the merits of this claim.

The VA examiner found that the Veteran's scar of the mid-chest is not related to his military service, attributing it instead to a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1982. Therefore, the claim for service connection for residuals of a shrapnel wound to the mid-chest is denied.

The VA determined that the Veteran's colon cancer and its residuals were not caused by or aggravated by any VA medical care, treatment, or examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a head and neck injury, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability related to an in-service injury.

The Veteran's dermatophytosis of the soles and toenails of both feet is currently rated at 30 percent effective from February 17, 2006.

The Veteran's left eye disorder was incurred in service and has been causally related to service. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise, granting service connection for the left eye disorder.

The Veteran is entitled to compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for increased astigmatism and loss of perception resulting from a VA cataract extraction surgery performed in January 2008, as the event was not reasonably foreseeable.

The Board finds that the Veteran was not a fugitive felon from December 27, 2001 to March 3, 2008 and thus his VA pension benefits should not have been terminated. The overpayment in the amount of $62,964.23 is therefore invalid.