Other conditions decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board found that the SSA income of the Veteran's daughter is not reasonably available to or for the Veteran and thus should not be counted as countable income for calculating his VA pension benefits.

The Board found that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic psychoneurosis/depressive reaction or a respiratory disorder, including influenza with high fever. The decision is mixed as it partially grants one claim (reopening) but denies the other.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for accrued benefits as he did not meet the statutory definition of a child and had not provided evidence that he bore the burden of paying for the Veteran's last illness, funeral, or burial expenses.

The Veteran's soft tissue loss, right lower extremity, residual of insect bite, has been rated as noncompensable since September 8, 2008. The Board finds that the condition is more appropriately rated under Diagnostic Code 7804 for scars and grants a compensable initial rating of 10%.

The Veteran's death is being remanded for further development and readjudication due to inadequate VA examination findings. The case will be reconsidered under the theories of entitlement based on exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, as well as other theories.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for his right and left hip DJD, finding that the evidence did not show an improvement in either condition or in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's dependents G. and K. were improperly removed from their school child allowances, and the Board has restored these benefits based on continuous enrollment.,The restoration of benefits for dependent child G. is effective July 1, 2010 to October [REDACTED], 2010, and for dependent child K. is effective June 1, 2010 to January 9, 2012.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not qualify as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for purposes of receiving death pension benefits due to her remarriage after the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current peripheral nerve disability, and therefore cannot establish service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's application for VA educational assistance benefits under the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) was denied because his chosen program at Medaille College, a four-year private institution, does not meet the requirements of being offered by a community college or technical school.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's nightmares are related to his service in Korea and grants service connection for a nightmare disorder.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as an unspecified depressive disorder and other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, has been rated at 30 percent since the appeal began. The Board found that his symptoms have not met the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 9411.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right leg disability, including arthritis and hip bursitis, is not shown to be etiologically related to his service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding in favor of service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's gynecological disorders, including uterine fibroids, chronic cervicitis with Nabothian cyst, residuals of hysterectomy, and Vulvovaginitis, are not related to her military service.

The Board finds that the appellant's remarriage was not void or fraudulent, and her second marriage was terminated with a divorce decree. Therefore, termination of death pension benefits based on remarriage was proper.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain an examination and medical opinion regarding whether additional disability following the Veteran's December 1996 bilateral bunionectomies may be attributed to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault by VA during the surgical treatment. The examiner will also assess if such additional disability was not a reasonably foreseeable outcome.

The Veteran is entitled to an effective date of November 21, 2003 for the award of service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The Board found that the Veteran was eligible for service connection as of his November 21, 2003, date of claim.

The Board found that the Veteran died from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma to the lungs, which was not a disability of service origin and did not contribute substantially or materially to his cause of death. The claim for service connection for the cause of death is denied.