Other conditions decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service treatment records and requests for additional medical records. The Veteran's claim for reopening a neck condition service connection is pending.

The Veteran's request for additional VA educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill was denied due to exceeding his maximum entitlement period. The debt created by an advanced payment of $3,000 for educational benefits is considered valid.

The Board found that the Veteran's L5-S1 disc herniation was incurred or aggravated in service, and granted her claim for service connection.

The Veteran died in a private nursing home and was not service-connected for any disability at the time of his death. The appeal is denied as there are no criteria met for burial benefits.

The Veteran's right hand disability is rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds no evidence to support a higher rating based on limitation of motion or other symptoms.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic respiratory disability during service and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection. The extension of total disability rating was also denied.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for bursitis of the right elbow is being remanded due to scheduling issues and the need for additional examination. The RO will attempt to obtain updated address information, provide another opportunity for the Veteran to report for an examination, and consider whether extra-schedular consideration should be applied.

The Board has determined that termination of VA death pension benefits due to excessive income was proper, and thus the appeal is denied.

The Board found that there is no evidence linking the Veteran's current nail fungus of the hands and feet to his military service, thus denying his claims for service connection.

The Board has received additional evidence and has decided to remand the case for further action, including consideration of new medical evidence and a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC).

The Veteran's right eye surgery resulted in overcorrection, leading to diplopia and image tilt. The Board found that this was not due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA, and thus did not meet the criteria for 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Veteran's residuals of pilonidal cyst with hidradenitis suppurativa have been rated at 50 percent, the highest schedular rating available for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran did not experience chronic symptoms related to bilateral ear infections or Eustachian tube dysfunction in service and has no continuous symptoms since service separation. The lung disorder, diagnosed as COPD, was also not related to service or asbestos exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected fibroids and menometrorrhagia, status post uterine ablation with urinary frequency, resulted in a disability rating of 40 percent effective June 19, 2009.

The preponderance of the competent medical and other evidence of record is against a finding that the Veteran developed an acquired eye disorder as a result of his active service.

The National Personnel Records Center has certified that the claimant had no service as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, including recognized guerrillas in the service of the United States Armed Forces. Therefore, the claimant is not eligible for nonservice-connected pension or one-time payment from the FVEC Fund.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a supplemental opinion from an optometrist other than the one who conducted the September 2008 VA eye examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's TIAs were not caused by VA treatment, and his urinary incontinence was not caused or aggravated by a September 2002 TURP procedure. The case is remanded for further clarification regarding whether the Veteran had urinary incontinence prior to the TURP.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claim for service connection for essential tremor of the hands.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected myofascial back pain, status-post laminectomy syndrome was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation from December 8, 2009 to May 5, 2012.