Other conditions decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a new examination to assess the severity of his service-connected left great toe disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the current severity of her right and left knee disabilities and any dental condition. The TDIU issue remains inextricably intertwined with the other claims.

The Veteran's mild neurocognitive disorder was caused by his treatment for his service-connected lung cancer.

The Veteran's stepmother is granted a dependency allowance for being his dependent parent (step-parent) as she stood in the relationship of parent to him prior to his entry into active service and is currently dependent on him for support.

The Board found that the reduction in nonservice-connected pension benefits was proper due to an increase in the Veteran's dependent spouse's income from Social Security benefits.

The Board finds that the Veteran's skin disability is etiologically related to her active duty service and grants service connection for a skin disability.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings have been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of these claims.

The Veteran's death was attributed to laryngeal cancer, which the Board found contributed to his death due to a delay in diagnosis. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is granted.

The Board has determined that the effective date for DIC benefits as a helpless child should be April 21, 2011, and not prior to this date. The appellant's application was filed nearly seven years after his eighteenth birthday.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral eye condition was not incurred as a result of active service and denied his claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left eye disability is being remanded due to the need to obtain treatment records and provide an examination.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for Bell's palsy of the left side was granted since August 30, 2000. The claim for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for Bell's palsy on the left side from November 20, 2012 was denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for urinary incontinence, including as secondary to diabetes mellitus, is denied.,There is no current diagnosis of a right hand disability. The Veteran's claimed right hand disability is not considered service-connected.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's fibrocystic breast disease is etiologically related to her active service, and she is granted service connection for this condition. The Board also found no evidence of a direct relationship between the Veteran's left ear pain and her cervical spine DDD or any other service-connected disability, thus denying service connection for left ear pain.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disorder, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected superficial peripheral sensory neuropathy of the right lower extremity. The TDIU claim was also denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete VA treatment records and instructed that these records be obtained. The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for his respiratory condition is being returned to the AOJ for further action.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a qualifying chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained multisymptom illness, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil did not have its onset in service or within the presumptive period and is not otherwise etiologically related to service, including exposure to herbicides. Therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's April 1997 surgery did not include removal of both ovaries, and thus she is not entitled to a higher disability rating under DC 7617. The claim for a higher rating is denied.

The Board has determined that recovery of the overpayment would violate equity and good conscience, and thus grants a waiver for the $4,322.56 in Chapter 33 educational assistance benefits.