Other conditions decisions — 2018

The Board denied the Veteran's waiver of recovery of an overpayment of compensation benefits in the amount of $29,921.07 due to fault on his part and lack of administrative error by VA.

Service connection was denied for a skin disorder and AL amyloidosis due to lack of exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable.,Service connection on the merits was not granted for either condition, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or chronicity following service. The Veteran's current diagnoses were found unrelated to his military service or any exposures therein.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable under VA regulations.

The Board has determined that the appellant's military service from March 2004 through March 2008 was under 'other than honorable conditions' and he is not entitled to VA benefits for this period of service.

The Veteran's skin disability was found to not warrant a rating in excess of 30 percent, and his claim for TDIU remains pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining missing VA treatment records and arranging for an orthopedic examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected spine disability. The case will also be referred to the Director, Compensation Service, for extraschedular consideration of TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected dysthymia was manifested by no more than occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial speech, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, depressed mood, occasional thoughts of suicide without plan or intent.

The Board found that the Veteran did not have a current left eye disorder related to his active military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as his service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for a higher rating or TDIU.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's heart disability had its onset in service, and grants service connection for a heart disability.

The Veteran's costochondritis has been manifested by tenderness to palpation, fatigability, and intermittent anterior chest pain increased on breathing deeply, walking, or bending over. The Board finds that the evidence of record does not document symptoms more closely approximating removal of the ribs. Therefore, a 10 percent rating is warranted for the entire appeal period.

The Board denied service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the distal penis, finding that it was not caused by or related to military service. The Veteran's radiation exposure did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to ionizing radiation.

The Board has reopened the appellant's claim and found that new and material evidence has been received to reopen his claim for benefits. The character of discharge from service is determined to be a bar to VA benefits due to misconduct, but not because of insanity at the time of the offense.

The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for service connection for cause of death, as no new and material evidence was submitted. The cause of death (acute myocardial infarction) is not related to any period of active duty or inactive duty.

The Board has determined that further medical examination is needed to determine the nature and likely etiology of the Veteran's non-scar residuals from her burn injuries, including right hip, hand, and lower extremity pain.

The Board found that the overpayment of VA service-connected compensation benefits for dependent spouse W.S. in the amount of $15,782.00 was properly created and waived due to fault on the part of the Veteran and against equity and good conscience.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and further development is required, including obtaining updated medical records and requesting an addendum opinion from a VA examiner regarding the etiology of the Veteran's neurocognitive disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's eye conditions are not related to service or his service-connected diabetes, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his stress fractures of the right and left tibia have been remanded due to inadequate development, specifically the need for an ankle examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's eye disability, diagnosed as right eye retinal vasculitis or bilateral arcus senilis, was not incurred in or aggravated by service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that his eye condition is related to exposure to ionizing radiation during service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied. The VA determined that the evidence did not support a higher rating for his herniated disc at L5-S1 or radiculopathy of the left lower extremity prior to January 19, 2012, and cervical spine DDD.