Other conditions decisions — 2014

The Board has remanded the case due to unclear information about who is making child support payments and whether the appellant was provided appropriate VCAA notice regarding income exclusions. The claim for nonservice-connected death pension benefits will be reconsidered.

The Board finds that the Veteran did not make an irrevocable election for educational benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill program in lieu of benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill program, and grants the appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting a new examination to assess the severity of his service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development and an addendum opinion from a VA examiner to address the Veteran's contentions about his in-service injury and continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized private medical expenses incurred during inpatient treatment at Promise Regional Medical Center from February 9, 2011 to February 15, 2011 is denied as he has coverage under a health-plan contract (Medicare Part A).

The Board finds that the Veteran's discharge from active duty was under honorable conditions (general), and he had no other periods of active duty. The record does not reflect any exceptions to eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, such as a preexisting condition or hardship. Therefore, his character of discharge bars him from receiving these benefits.

The Veteran's request for a waiver of overpayment was not timely, and therefore the appeal is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not eligible for Chapter 1606 educational assistance benefits due to premature termination of her contract with the Army Reserve and failure to resume reserve duty within a year. The claim is denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to clarify whether Paget's disease was aggravated by the Veteran's period of active duty for training in July 1987, and if so, whether service connection should be granted.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for Cushing's syndrome has been fully resolved by the RO in their favor, and thus the Board does not have jurisdiction over this matter.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for squamous cell carcinoma. The Board finds that his initial claim was denied in January 2007, and reopening occurred on October 4, 2010. As such, the earliest effective date is October 4, 2010.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise, and affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, finding there is medical evidence establishing a link between his asbestos exposure in service and his residuals of colon cancer. Therefore, the claim for service connection for residuals of colon cancer is granted.

The Veteran does not have a current peptic ulcer condition and the residuals of his 1972 surgery are not related to service or an incident of service origin. Therefore, service connection for a peptic ulcer condition is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination and issuance of an SOC addressing the issue of her ilioinguinal nerve condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's post-concussive syndrome and cognitive disorder are related to his head injuries sustained during service, warranting service connection.

The Veteran's claimed heart conditions are not service connected as they do not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection based on exposure to Agent Orange. The VA examiners concluded that there is no link between his current condition and his in-service complaints or any other event during service.

The Board denied a request for an earlier effective date of June 27, 2011 for the grant of death pension with aid and attendance. The claim was initially denied in November 2008 but became final due to lack of new and material evidence within one year. The Appellant's son submitted new and material evidence on behalf of the Appellant in February 2012, leading to a decision granting the claim effective June 27, 2011.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for a right inguinal hernia as there was no evidence of a readily reducible and well-supported by truss or belt postoperative recurrent inguinal hernia.

The Veteran's residuals of eosinophilic granulomas of the lungs have been rated at 100% effective December 11, 2013, due to FVC less than 50 percent predicted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional information and evidence, including a VA examination for his bilateral hearing loss and an addendum opinion regarding his service connection claim for chronic pancreatitis. The claims will be reviewed again after the requested actions are completed.