Other conditions decisions — 2015

The Board denied the appellant's eligibility for VRAP benefits due to his discharge from service under other than honorable conditions due to misconduct, specifically drug abuse.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for education assistance benefits as he did not meet the service dates requirements and neither DoD nor DHS found him eligible.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hernia was not incurred or aggravated by service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that his bony prominence of the left foot did not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent. The issues regarding neck injury, back condition, headaches secondary to head injury, and acquired psychiatric disorder were also denied as there was no evidence supporting these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Clark on December 7 and 8, 2011 are timely filed. The case is remanded to adjudicate the merits of these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have service-connected disabilities for hyperlipidemia/high cholesterol or a vision disability. The claims are therefore denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current peripheral artery disease and atherosclerosis of the left lower extremity are not related to service, as they were acute and resolved during service. The claim for service connection is denied.,Similarly, the Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's current right lower extremity disability or lumbar spine disorder to his in-service exposure.

The Board dismissed the appeal because a timely notice of disagreement (NOD) was not filed within one year after the June 2009 decision denying reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses from February 11 to February 12, 2009.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to October 28, 2010 for the grant of service connection for chronic olecranon bursitis, right elbow is granted. The RO assigned a 10 percent rating effective from October 28, 2010.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to a hearing issue and will be decided by a three-member panel of Veterans Law Judges.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to determine if he was entitled to special monthly compensation based on loss of use of both hands prior to April 1, 2012.

The Board found that the overpayment of $23,756 was validly created and denied the Veteran's appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to the need for a VA examination and additional analysis regarding the appellant's claim of service connection for arthritis, which she claims was aggravated during periods of active duty for training (ADT) or inactive duty for training (IDT).

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded again due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records from VAMC Chicago and requesting necessary releases. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Board finds that there is no current evidence of a lung disorder, and the Veteran's intermittent shortness of breath during service was not diagnosed as such. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran does not have a current lung disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of myopic astigmatism, finding that it is not a disease or injury for VA purposes and thus cannot be granted. The Veteran was found to have no other left eye disability due to disease or injury.

The Veteran's income is less than the maximum annual pension rate, thus meeting the basic income eligibility for VA nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Board has determined that the appellant's request for a waiver of her declared death pension debt was timely filed. The case is now remanded to address the merits of her waiver request.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional medical records and clarify a previous medical opinion regarding the cause of death.

The Board has determined that the appellant's skin disorder, including basal cell carcinoma, is not service-connected and denied his claim.