Other conditions decisions — 2018

The Board has granted service connection for Hodgkin's lymphoma (in remission) due to ionizing radiation exposure, but has remanded the issue of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Board has denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking coronary atherosclerosis to service or presumed exposure to herbicides. The DIC claim is remanded as it requires additional development, including obtaining relevant court records and medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for myeloproliferative disorder with early acute leukemia transformation due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The cause of death, which included this condition, is also considered service connected.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical evidence on whether the Veteran's current gouty arthritis is related to his military service.

The VA denied compensation for permanent worsening of the Veteran's peripheral vascular disease of the right leg due to a January 2004 surgical procedure performed at the Indianapolis VAMC, finding that the surgery did not result in additional disability.

The Board has granted service connection for memory loss with insomnia and skin rashes as due to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. Service connection for the eye disorder was denied.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for conjunctivitis and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a link between the Veteran's current condition and his active duty service.

The appeal for service connection of pulmonary fibrosis is dismissed due to the appellant's death.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the July 2012 decision denying such was final and that no new evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left knee conditions prior to April 23, 2007; as of June 1, 2007; and as of October 7, 2006 have been denied.

The appeal for payment of medical expenses is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's T-cell LGL leukemia was not incurred or aggravated during service and is not related to herbicide exposure. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred at Mitchell County Hospital on July 25, 2012 is being remanded due to the need for clarification regarding Medicare coverage and enrollment in VA healthcare.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for medical reimbursement for non-VA services provided at South Georgia Medical Center on February 11, 2011.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for pituitary adenoma and granted service connection on the merits due to exposure to Agent Orange during service. The Veteran's pituitary adenoma is found to be related to his in-service exposure to Agent Orange.

The Veteran's death was not due to a service-connected condition, and the appellant did not provide evidence of a pending claim for compensation or pension benefits at the time of his death. The Board denied the claim as there were no circumstances that would allow for payment of nonservice-connected burial benefits.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an extension of her delimiting date for Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38 of the United States Code due to a lack of evidence demonstrating that she was unable to initiate or complete an education program within the 10-year delimiting period due to a physical or mental disability.

The Veteran's service-connected traumatic arteriovenous fistulae in the right posterior fossae of the brain does not demonstrate more than a mild subjective cognitive or emotional/behavioral deficit, and thus his claim for an increased disability rating is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for nonservice-connected pension benefits due to excessive income, as his annual income exceeded the maximum allowable amount.

The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and payment at the Step 1 100 percent rate were denied. The Board found that October 29, 2011 was the appropriate effective date for Chapter 33 apprenticeship program benefits.