Other conditions decisions — 2014

The Veteran's claim for a temporary total evaluation due to January 2002 surgery and subsequent convalescence was received more than one year after the need for convalescence began. Therefore, her claim is denied.

The Board has determined that the appellant's pension benefits were properly terminated due to excessive countable income, which exceeded the maximum annual pension rate for a veteran with no dependents in 2006-2008.

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant did not file an accrued benefits claim within one year of his death.

The Veteran died in December 1976 due to cerebral anoxia caused by a car accident. The cause of death is not attributable to service, any incident of service, or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder and right wrist conditions have been denied as there is no current diagnosis of either condition.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's service connection claim for a bilateral eye disability, to include macular degeneration, and will be considered de novo based on all of the evidence of record. If service connection is ultimately granted, the RO should clarify the circumstances of the March 1996 'cancellation' of the Veteran's prior appeal as that may affect the assignment of an effective date.

The Board has granted the appellant's request for an extension of her delimiting date beyond November 2, 2010 for educational assistance benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38 United States Code, ending on July [redacted], 2011.

The Veteran died at his home and was not hospitalized by VA or receiving care under VA contract at a non-VA facility. Therefore, the appellant is not entitled to non-service-connected burial benefits.

The appellant is not recognized as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for purposes of receiving DIC and death pension benefits due to her divorce from the Veteran at the time of his death.

The Veteran's request for a travel board hearing was not attended due to his hospitalization. The Board finds good cause and requests another hearing before the Board at the next available opportunity.

The Veteran's claim for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill was denied as he did not meet the eligibility criteria due to his obligated service under the Loan Repayment Program.

The Board has granted an effective date of March 1, 2010 for additional compensation benefits for the Veteran's son J.G.O. based on school attendance, and denied earlier dates.

The Veteran is seeking compensation under the 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for blindness of his right eye, which he claims resulted from a VA medical procedure in December 2003. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the blindness was caused by negligence or fault on the part of VA.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current spider veins of bilateral lower extremities are not related to her active duty service and therefore denied service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to an incomplete accounting of military retirement pay and a need for further verification from DFAS.

The Board denied increased ratings for post-operative residuals of a fracture of the right radius and ulna, as well as residuals of a fracture of the right tibia and lateral malleolus with traumatic arthritis. The effective date for the 10 percent rating for radiculopathy was not addressed.

The Veteran's current lung disorder was not incurred or aggravated by service, and the Board finds no evidence to support a presumption of herbicide exposure as claimed.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for lung disease, residuals of multiple cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), and brain tumor, finding that these conditions were not incurred or aggravated as a result of active service.

The Board found that there is no direct service connection for a neurological disorder of the bilateral lower extremities, as it did not have onset during active service and was not caused or aggravated by exposure to herbicides in service. The Veteran's claim for secondary service connection based on his service-connected DDD of the lumbar spine was also denied.

The Veteran's left scrotal varicocele disability is manifested by tenderness and pain, but not complete atrophy of both testes. The Board has determined that a 10 percent rating is warranted for this condition.