Other conditions decisions — 2016

The Board has granted service connection for a menstrual disorder as a qualifying chronic disability under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.317, and found that new and material evidence had been received to reopen claims for service connection for weakness (previously claimed as due to Gulf War Syndrome) and migraine headaches (previously claimed as due to Gulf War Syndrome).

The appellant has withdrawn her appeal regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, and thus the case is dismissed without prejudice.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and new and material evidence, finding no CUE in the RO's decision. The Veteran does not have currently diagnosed night blindness.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Satilla Regional Medical Center on June 6, 2011 are approved as the treatment was deemed necessary due to a prudent layperson expectation of life or health hazard from delay.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's CFS did not have its onset in service and is not otherwise related to service. The claim for residuals of mononucleosis will be remanded as it was not addressed in this decision.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38, of the United States Code because she did not file her application within one year of commencing her education at Ottawa University. The earliest beginning date available to the appellant is September 11, 2011, which is one year prior to the receipt of her September 11, 2012, claim for DEA benefits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not eligible for educational assistance benefits under Chapter 1606 of Title 10 of the United States Code, MGIB-SR due to his separation from the Selected Reserve in September 1999.

The Veteran's request for a waiver of overpayment was denied due to the request being filed outside the 180-day time limit mandated by law.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as a helpless child of the Veteran due to uncertainty in her marital status and lack of evidence meeting statutory requirements.

The Board found that the Veteran's spina bifida occulta is a congenital defect and there is no evidence of permanent aggravation by any additional injury or disease to the back or spine incurred during his active military service. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining a VA medical opinion to address the claimed residuals of the November 2006 surgical procedure and whether any additional disabilities are proximately caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a disability rating higher than 10 percent for right thumb arthritis from May 1, 2012.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected discoid lupus erythematosus with systemic lupus erythematosus and tumidus lupus.

The Veteran's partial left hemilaryngectomy, residual of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, is currently rated at 30 percent effective from October 1, 2003.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant, as it has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disability (claimed as tumors), to include as due to herbicide exposure, was denied because there is no evidence of a current skin disability that is related to his military service or herbicide exposure.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the Appellant.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lung disability is not related to his service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's dysthymic disorder has been rated at 30 percent since August 19, 2005. The current rating reflects occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbosacral disabilities are related to his service, specifically a combat injury in July 1967. The evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether these conditions represent a progression of a developmental disease from service.