Other conditions decisions — 2015

The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse, finding that she did not meet the legal requirements due to a lack of valid marriage and an awareness of the state's prohibition on common law marriages.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected mesenteric vascular insufficiency, which is presumed to be due to herbicide exposure in service. As a result, the appeal for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of a shell fragment wound to the right chest is being remanded due to conflicting findings from VA examinations and further clarification is needed.

The Veteran's claim for additional educational benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is denied as he has already used all of his entitlement under other VA education programs.

The Board denied the appellant's claim as she is not recognized as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA death benefits purposes due to her divorce from the Veteran at the time of his death and his subsequent legal marriage.

The Board has remanded the case to the AOJ for review of new evidence and readjudication, including consideration of lay statements from the Veteran and others.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's arthritis of the bilateral hands and feet was not caused or aggravated by any incident of active service.

The Board found no causal or etiologic relationship between the Veteran's bilateral hip disorder and her service, including her National Guard service. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's cause of death was listed as pneumonia due to or as a consequence of complications of metastatic cancer (involving neck and lungs). The Board finds that remand is warranted in order to verify the Veteran's service in the Republic of Vietnam, determine if his cancer was related to active duty, and attempt to determine the primary form of cancer.

The Veteran's right knee and tibia disability, prior to December 9, 2013, was rated at 10 percent due to slight impairment. From December 9, 2013, the disability warranted a 30 percent rating for moderate impairment.

The Veteran's request for a waiver of overpayment of VA nonservice-connected pension benefits in the amount of $3,108.00 was granted by the Committee on Waivers and Compromises.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for the issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a left upper extremity disability, entitlement to service connection for a right upper extremity disability, and entitlement to an increased rating for degenerative joint disease, L3-L4 and L4-L5 bulging disc and posterior disc protrusion, L5-S1.

The Veteran's claim for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis is being remanded due to the need for further development and consideration by the Director of Compensation and Pension Service.

The appellant's annualized countable income for 2011 exceeds the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for the applicable period, thus denying her entitlement to VA death pension.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of any current foot disorder, cardiac irregularity, impaired lower extremity circulation, and nonhealing wounds. The claims will be reviewed after these actions are completed.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left hand disabilities are not related to his military service, including his work as a mechanic. The preponderance of evidence does not support the claims for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for refractive error, bilateral pseudophakia, and left eye asteroid hyalosis. The Veteran's currently diagnosed conditions are not considered to be related to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred on December 15, 2011 at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center was denied as the condition did not meet the criteria for a medical emergency requiring private hospital treatment.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for aortic valvular disease, which was previously denied in January 2006. The evidence received since then does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.