Other conditions decisions — 2014

The Veteran's surviving spouse is denied entitlement to automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, as well as a grant for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation, due to these benefits not being considered periodic monetary payments subject to accrued benefits.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for adding a dependent to his disability award is denied as there is no dispute of fact and the claim lacks legal merit.

The Board has determined that the appellant cannot be recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of receiving VA death pension benefits.

The Veteran and the appellant were legally divorced in 1987, which terminated their marital status. As a result, the appellant cannot be recognized as the surviving spouse for VA benefits.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have recognized active military service for the purpose of obtaining a one-time payment from the FVEC Fund, and therefore, legal entitlement to such benefits is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran did not have active military, naval, or air service during a period of war and therefore does not meet the threshold eligibility requirements for nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Veteran's death was not due to a service-connected condition, and the appellant did not submit an application for nonservice-connected VA burial benefits within two years of the date of burial. Therefore, the claim is denied.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for death pension benefits due to her income exceeding the maximum annual income limit.

The Veteran's claim for an extension of the delimiting date beyond December 30, 2010, to use Chapter 30 educational benefits was denied as there is no evidence showing that he was prevented from initiating or completing a program of education due to physical or mental disability.

The Board denied the Appellant's claim for education benefits under the Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) program, Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code, as his application was received after his delimiting date of age 26 and he did not start a program prior to reaching age 31.

The Veteran's claim for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is granted with a benefit level of 90 percent. The Board denied his request for an increased rate due to insufficient service length.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for blindness and anatomical loss of the right eye due to new evidence. However, the claim for a right eye disability is denied as there is no credible evidence that the current condition was incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's son was granted a permanent and total disability rating effective April 22, 2009. The Appellant applied for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits in August 2010 but failed to elect a beginning date within the required 60 days. As a result, December 11, 2009 was assigned as his beginning date for DEA benefits. Since there is no legal basis to grant retroactive payment based on a school's failure to notify VA, the claim must be denied.

The Board has determined that the correct delimiting date for the appellant's DEA benefits is March 26, 2013. The appeal is granted to this extent.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred on March 21, 2011 at the Eastern Maine Medical Center were denied as prior authorization for VA payment was not obtained and there were feasible VA facilities available.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of anemia or a heart disability, and thus service connection cannot be granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected recurrent supraventricular tachycardia was denied as the evidence did not show that his condition had worsened since his last VA examination in November 2009.

The Veteran's right hip replacement was rated at 30 percent, and the Board found that his symptoms did not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the initial rating for service-connected hypercoagulopathy, leading to its dismissal.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing new examinations to address the Veteran's claims of service connection for loss of taste and smell, as well as bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.