Other conditions decisions — 2015

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a low back disorder and finds that new evidence supports the Veteran's contention that his current condition is related to his military service. The Board concludes that the Veteran's low back disorder, diagnosed as degenerative spondylosithesis, was incurred in active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for recognition of L.H. as a helpless child due to her not qualifying as his stepdaughter prior to turning 18 years old.

The appellant's claims for DIC, death pension, and accrued benefits are denied as she is not a child under VA law and did not file within the required time limits.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development due to a change in the appellant's income and medical expenses, which need to be verified.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine the creation and calculation of any indebtedness, including the amount of death pension benefits paid and withheld for repayment of prior VA overpayment debt.

The Board has determined that the appellant is not entitled to recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA purposes, and therefore does not have standing to seek benefits.

The Veteran's claim for treatment in the VA healthcare system without a copayment requirement from March 11, 2010, through March 10, 2011 was denied as his gross household income exceeded the National Means Test threshold.

The Veteran's daughter is not eligible for accrued benefits because the Veteran had a surviving spouse at the time of his death.

The Veteran's MRSA infection and resulting disabilities are not considered to be due to VA treatment, as the proximate cause was not carelessness or negligence on VA's part.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's duodenal ulcer with resulting duodenitis was incurred in active military service.

The Board has granted the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date of July 17, 2010 for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits.

The appeal is dismissed due to the death of the Appellant.

The Board has determined that the Appellant's annual income exceeded the maximum allowable pension rate for nonservice-connected death pension benefits, and thus her claim for these benefits is denied.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an extension of her DEA benefits beyond May 13, 2013, as there was no legal basis to find her eligible after that date.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as he has no legal entitlement to additional VA educational assistance beyond the 3 months and 12 days already transferred under Chapter 33.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Fawcett Memorial Hospital on March 20, 2013 is denied as the treatment was not authorized by VA and did not meet the criteria for reimbursement under applicable laws.

The appeal is being remanded due to insufficient information in the Veteran's medical claims file for adjudicating this appeal. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further review.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for varicose veins has been reopened and the Board finds that she is entitled to service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claim for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses provided by private providers from September 21, 2012 to September 25, 2012 was denied due to the lack of evidence showing that VA facilities were not feasibly available and a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected immediate medical attention.

The Veteran's claim for a clothing allowance is being remanded due to the need for an examination to determine if his prescribed topical medications cause irreparable damage to his outer garments.