Other conditions decisions — 2016

The Veteran's request for a waiver of the recovery of an overpayment of education benefits in the amount of $3,000 was not timely filed and thus denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining service treatment records and a VA examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hip degenerative joint disease.

The Board denied the appellant's request to assign an effective date earlier than August 1, 2013 for the award of death pension benefits.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for her vertical maxillary excess and mandibular AP deficiency, status post Le Fort I osteotomy, bilateral sagittal split osteotomy, and anterior horizontal mandibular osteotomy, and advancements is being remanded due to the need for additional development including an examination during a period of recurrence.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and providing an addendum to a VA examination. The appeal is pending and will be reconsidered after these actions.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for VA home loan guaranty benefits as he did not meet the legal criteria, despite his arguments and claims of fairness.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of carcinoma of the lungs and pneumonia are being remanded due to incomplete development, including a need for clarification on whether he wishes to testify before the Board.

The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and an addendum opinion.

The Board found that the Veteran's waiver request was timely filed due to circumstances beyond his control (homelessness) and granted the waiver of overpayment for $19,110.75.

The Veteran's service connection claim for Von Willebrand's disease, which he claims is related to herbicide exposure during his Vietnam-era service, was denied as there was no evidence of the condition in service and no link between it and his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back, right shoulder, paralysis of the right side of the face, pinched nerves with ligaments strain to the right buttock and thigh and calf weakness, and right bicep weakness due to lack of cooperation in VA examinations scheduled during the reopening of these claims.

The Board found that the VA Chapter 33 educational debt was properly created and that the Veteran's progress in his courses did not remain satisfactory beyond the dates reported by the schools. Therefore, the overpayment was valid and the criteria for waiver of the overpayment were not met.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have malaria or its residuals of service origin and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a scheduling issue for a hearing. The claim of payment or reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses will be reviewed after the scheduled hearing.

The Veteran's vision disorder, diagnosed as myopia, is not considered a recognized disability for VA compensation purposes and thus service connection cannot be granted.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for a right inguinal hernia, which he claims developed as secondary to his already-service-connected left inguinal hernia. The Board has determined that additional development is needed due to incomplete medical records and the need for an opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's current condition and his prior surgeries.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's primary insomnia is rated at 10 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available for this condition. The evidence does not show occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding the claim for a compensable rating for dry eye syndrome.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to address the adequacy of previous examinations and comply with Correia v. McDonald (2016).