Other conditions decisions — 2018

The Veteran's medical emergency had ended by July 29, 2013. The VA clinician determined that the Veteran could have been transferred to a VA facility for continued treatment on July 28, but no attempts were made to transfer him. Therefore, payment of medical expenses from July 29 through August 2, 2013, is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination and for obtaining updated treatment records. The Veteran's prostate condition is related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during his military service.

The Veteran's surviving spouse, who was not married to the Veteran for at least one year prior to his death, does not meet the eligibility criteria for DIC benefits.

The Board has denied an initial compensable evaluation for head tremor and remanded the issues of evaluating dysarthria, dysphagia, and TDIU.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis with painful motion, is rated at 10 percent. The increased rating for the chondromalacia with patellar neuritis of the right knee remains denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right trapezius muscle strain, left lateral femoral cutaneous nerve dysfunction, and right lateral femoral cutaneous nerve dysfunction due to incomplete examinations and lack of consideration of flare-ups during the appeal process.

The Veteran's right testicle condition, which is retraction without atrophy or infection, does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation. The Board denied an initial compensable evaluation and dismissed any extraschedular consideration.

The Board denied service connection for a back disability, finding that the Veteran did not demonstrate arthritis of the back to a compensable degree within one year of discharge from active duty and there was no evidence showing it was related to his military service or any other condition.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further development, including obtaining post-service treatment records from Fort Bragg. The Board will then refer the case to VA’s Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence and needs further examination to determine if the Veteran's neck disorder is related to service or his right shoulder disability.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral eye disability, including ptosis of the left eye and decreased visual acuity of both eyes. The Veteran's left eye ptosis was found to be a congenital defect not aggravated by service. His diagnosed refractive error is excluded from VA compensation due to its nature as a condition that is not defined as a disease or injury.

The appellant is not eligible for VA death benefits because her father did not have qualifying service in the United States Armed Forces, as determined by the Service Department.

The Board has granted recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA benefits and remanded the issue of an earlier effective date for dependency and indemnity compensation for the Veteran’s child.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left foot disorder, finding that his pre-existing condition existed prior to service and was not aggravated by military service.

The Board found that the September 2012 request for waiver of indebtedness was timely filed within 180 days of the June 2012 notice of overpayment, and thus granted the appeal on this basis. However, further development is needed to determine the validity of the underlying debt.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for updated VA treatment records and a VA eye examination.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's astrocytoma glioma and cause of death, finding that exposure to toxic chemicals in service contributed to his development of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable initial disability rating for fecal bowel impaction from April 10, 2015 was denied. A noncompensable initial disability rating was granted prior to April 10, 2015.

The Veteran's overpayment of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in the amount of $8,152.03 is waived due to financial hardship and undue hardship.

The Veteran disputes the validity of an overpayment claim and needs further information from his college to determine if he withdrew entirely or satisfactorily completed classes during the Summer 2011 and Summer 2012 semesters. The amount of credit hours reported by the college versus those completed is unclear, which affects the determination of whether an overpayment was created.