Other conditions decisions — 2012

The Veteran seeks payment or reimbursement for private medical expenses incurred at St. Anthony's Hospital from October 30, 2008 to November 11, 2008. The case is being remanded due to the need for additional development and compliance with VCAA requirements.

The Veteran's appeal for a waiver of overpayment of VA pension benefits was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has determined that the appellant did not have qualifying service and is therefore not a veteran for purposes of receiving benefits from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.

The Board has determined that the appellant did not timely request a waiver of recovery for an overpayment of VA death pension benefits, and has therefore remanded the case to allow for further development.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to new evidence received since the last prior adjudication.

The Board found that the Appellant's low back disability was not incurred or aggravated by active duty service and denied her claim.

The Board found that the overpayment of $13,244.53 was valid and granted the decision.

The Veteran's appeal for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred in October 2009 has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the VA St. Louis RO for additional development, including scheduling of a VA examination and determining whether his claim should be submitted for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a left eye disability and finds that new evidence submitted since the last denial in September 1971 relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. The Veteran's current left eye disability is found to be related to his pre-existing condition, as he was hit by a projectile during military service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's right ovarian cyst removal is related to her service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant, and the claim has been returned to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for further action.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified dental caries and absence of teeth is denied as the condition does not meet the criteria for service connection under VA regulations.

The Veteran's claim for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a non-VA medical facility in February 2011 is denied as he has health insurance coverage under Medicare, which disqualifies him from receiving such reimbursement.

The Board dismissed the appeal as VA has already approved payment of the unauthorized medical expenses incurred by the appellant at St. Joseph's Hospital.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleeplessness, to include sleep apnea, as secondary to his service-connected chronic myofascial restrictive syndrome/strain. The evidence did not show a separate disability characterized by sleeplessness or sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for the residuals of squamous cell carcinoma of the left false vocal cord was denied as his condition did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining missing service treatment records and confirming all of the Veteran's Army National Guard service dates.

The Veteran died from a disease for which presumptive service connection is warranted based on herbicide exposure. Therefore, the claim for cause of death is granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for substance abuse is denied as a matter of law because he does not have any service-connected disabilities, and his substance abuse cannot be granted on a direct basis due to the prohibition against granting service connection for alcohol or drug abuse incurred during military service.