Other conditions decisions — 2012

The Veteran's request for a waiver of overpayment of pension benefits was not timely filed as it came in more than 180 days after the notification of indebtedness.

The Veteran's lung disorder is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his current lung disability. The appeal will be returned to the Board once this development has been completed.

The Veteran's neuralgia of the breast was caused by her June 1998 VA breast reduction surgery, which was a direct result of carelessness or negligence on the part of VA. The additional disability was not foreseeable.

The Veteran's paraplegia was not caused by VA care, but the Board finds it is at least as likely as not that the condition occurred during or due to his VA treatment. However, there is no evidence of negligence on VA's part and the event was reasonably foreseeable.

The Veteran is seeking clarification on his eligibility for and payment calculation of educational assistance benefits under Chapter 33, Title 38 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) and whether an overpayment of these benefits was properly created. The Board has remanded the case to clarify what relief the Veteran seeks from VA in this case.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for left eye blindness and right eye hemianopsia, finding that these conditions are due to injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident during his active military service. The claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for pigmentary dispersion syndrome of the right eye with secondary glaucoma is remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's peptic ulcer disease had its onset in service and is related to his military service, granting his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the pancreatic cancer to service or any service-connected conditions.

The Board finds that the Veteran's right leg disability is related to service and grants entitlement to service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran did not sustain a fracture of the right tibia in service and no current residuals of any such fracture are currently demonstrated. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for CRPS of the left leg and service connection for lymphedema have been granted. The Board also found that the Veteran is eligible for TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a non-displaced fracture of the right third metatarsal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development. The case will be reconsidered after these steps are completed.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a gunshot wound to the upper right abdomen are rated at 10 percent, reflecting moderate disability.

The Veteran's service-connected thoracic spine strain has been granted and rated at 10 percent disabling, effective from the date of grant.

The Veteran's service-connected post-radiation therapy diarrhea has been assigned the maximum schedular evaluation available under DC 7319, which is a 30 percent disability rating. The evidence does not support an increase in this rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's death from cholangiocarcinoma was not caused by his active military service, and thus denied service connection for the cause of death. The claim for accrued benefits is also denied.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the meningioma or schwannoma of the trigeminal nerve had its onset during service, manifested to a compensable degree within one year following service discharge, or is otherwise due to service. The cervical spine disability was also not incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded due to new evidence submitted by the appellant, including her statement alleging inadequate pain management and its impact on his health.

The Veteran's left testicle condition and chronic orchialgia are not deemed to be related to VA treatment, as the cause is attributed to surgical complications rather than carelessness or negligence on VA's part.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a bilateral leg disability, to include as secondary to his right shoulder disability. The Board finds procedural flaws in the handling of this claim and remands it for further development including an adequate supplemental statement of the case and a VA musculoskeletal examination.