Other conditions decisions — 2018

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical records and lack of information regarding emergency care provided at Carle Foundation Hospital. The appellant is advised to provide any additional relevant documents.

The Board has determined that the issue as developed by the AOJ is not ripe for appellate review due to procedural issues, and remands the case for further action.

The Veteran's child is denied retroactive payment of Dependents' Education Assistance (DEA) benefits under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 because the application was received more than two years after the initial rating decision establishing basic eligibility for such benefits.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to a permanent and total disability rating for accrued benefits or substitution purposes, as well as the claim for TDIU for accrued benefits or substitution purposes. The appellant needs to clarify whether she wishes to proceed with these claims as a substitute claimant or for accrued benefits purposes.

The Veteran's nephrolithiasis, which involves recurrent stone formation requiring drug and diet therapy, is granted a 30 percent rating.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a challenge regarding the creation of an overpayment debt. The Veteran must provide further information on whether the error was solely administrative or if he had knowledge of it.

The Veteran's request for an extension of the delimiting date under the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans' Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) was denied as his application was not timely and there is no medical evidence to establish that he had a physical or mental disability preventing him from initiating or completing an educational program.

The Board has determined that the appeal is not yet ready for appellate review due to incomplete information and requires a paid and due audit of compensation payments, as well as an evaluation of the validity of the debt creation. The Veteran's request for a waiver of the debt will also be referred for further review.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for superficial glans penile injury is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess current severity of his service-connected condition.

The Veteran's insomnia has been rated as 10 percent disabling prior to May 4, 2017, and in excess of 50 percent thereafter. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted.

The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty about whether the Veteran's hepatitis infection was related to his bile duct cancer, which caused his death.

The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding the validity of the overpayment and waiver issues. The Veteran disputes both the creation of the debt and its recovery.

The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate development and need for a new opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right elbow conditions, as secondary to his service-connected multilevel degenerative changes in the cervical spine. The VA examinations are inadequate upon which to decide these issues.

The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected as his cancer, which caused his death, was not related to his military service. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure or asbestos exposure during the Veteran's service and concluded that gastric cancer is not linked to any in-service exposures.

The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen his service connection claim for residuals of a gunshot wound, left lower extremity. However, the claim is denied as the evidence does not support that the injury was incurred in line of duty.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal, satisfied with the assigned ratings and effective dates.

The Veteran died in 2010 and the appellant filed for burial benefits three years later. The claim is denied as untimely.

The Board found that the Veteran has not been reasonably discharging his responsibility to support the appellant as her dependent spouse, and granted a general apportionment of his VA disability compensation in the amount of the additional disability compensation he is receiving for the appellant as his dependent spouse.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for Vitamin D deficiency as secondary to his service-connected sarcoidosis of the lung with fatigue, finding that the evidence did not support a causal link between the two conditions.