Other conditions decisions — 2014

The Appellant is not recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA death benefits purposes due to her divorce from the Veteran prior to his death.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional VA examination and private treatment records, as well as for further development of the claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, acute myelogenous leukemia and MDS, is presumed to be related to his service in Vietnam due to exposure to herbicides including Agent Orange.

The Board found that the Veteran's overpayment was validly created due to his incarceration for a felony conviction. The debt is denied as there is no indication of fraud, misrepresentation or bad faith on the part of the Veteran in creating the debt and recovery would not be against equity and good conscience.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center on January 13 and 14, 2012 were denied as the treatment was not for a service-connected condition and there was no emergency requiring immediate attention.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for an eye disorder. However, further development is needed before the merits of the claim can be addressed.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected compression fracture of L1, as well as reopening and service connection claims, were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.

The Veteran's skin disability, diagnosed as erythema multiforme of undetermined etiology, has not met the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent disabling during the appeal period. The condition affects less than 5% of his body or exposed areas and requires no systemic therapy.

The Board is considering whether the June 1987 rating decision denying service connection for a sinus condition contained clear and unmistakable error, as well as reopening claims for helpless child benefits and service connection for a sinus disorder. The appeal is pending.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the Appellant's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including an updated VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected right hand disability.

The Board has determined that the appellant received overpayment of VA death pension due to her misrepresentation of income. The appeal is denied.

The Board determined that the Veteran's debt of $1,035.00 was valid due to an overpayment of VA compensation benefits for a dependent spouse from October 2009 to August 2011. However, it found no fault on the part of the Veteran and concluded that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience.

The Veteran's widow requested payment for unauthorized medical expenses incurred during her husband's treatment at King's Daughters Medical Center. However, as the Veteran died before a decision was made on this issue, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including issuing a Statement of the Case (SOC) regarding nonservice-connected death pension and scheduling a VA examination to determine eligibility for aid and attendance or housebound benefits. The decision on the merits will be made after these actions are completed.

The appellant has withdrawn her appeal for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for purposes of VA death benefits, and thus the matter is dismissed.

The Veteran's claim for unauthorized medical expenses incurred during his November 26, 2009 hospitalization at Hamilton Medical Center was deemed timely and granted.

The Board denied the motion alleging clear and unmistakable error in a June 21, 2013 decision that determined new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen the claim of nonservice-connected pension benefits with special monthly pension. The Board found the issue was whether there was qualifying service for pension.

The Veteran's cause of death, metastases non-small cell due to carcinoma of the lung, is not service connected as there was no in-service event or disease. The Board found that the Veteran did not set foot in Vietnam and thus could not establish exposure to herbicide agents.

The Veteran's claim for a TDIU rating has been granted by the RO in an October 2014 decision, effective November 2014. As such, there is no longer a pending adverse determination to which the Board can adjudicate.