Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Board dismissed the appeal as it is moot due to the Appellant's death, and no effective date earlier than April 12, 2013 for the grant of service connection for cause of death was granted.

The Veteran's adult daughter is seeking accrued benefits for reimbursement of the expenses of last sickness and burial. The Board has determined that additional information is needed to support her claim.

The Board has found a need to obtain additional medical records from the Veteran's current chiropractor, Dr. C.R., and other relevant private treatment records for an accurate assessment of his chronic back pain claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for basal cell carcinoma was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding whether the condition is related to his military service.

The Veteran's mood disorder more nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, warranting a 30 percent rating. The criteria for a higher initial rating were not met.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected left varicocele, effective throughout the appeal period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral eye disability, including nystagmus, amblyopia, oculocutaneous albinism, and congenital defects in optic nerves, is not service-connected as these conditions are either congenital or developmental defects. The pre-existing conditions were not aggravated by service.

The Veteran's lung fibrosis is being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for an addendum medical opinion.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for right and left eye disorders due to new evidence received since the March 2014 rating decision. However, additional development is needed as an opinion on etiology is required.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the reduction of his disability rating for a back condition, and the Board dismissed the case as a result.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for colon cancer, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability related to service or any other compensable basis. The Board also found insufficient evidence to support secondary service connection.

The Board denied the claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, finding that the Veteran's death was not caused by VA negligence or an unforeseeable event.

The Board has granted reopening of the claims for service connection for residuals of a left arm fracture and residuals of a left toe fracture, but has remanded both issues to obtain additional evidence and conduct VA examinations.

The Board has decided that the appeal must be remanded to reconstruct an incomplete record due to missing service treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a cardiac disability and TDIU due to issues with the July 2017 VA examination, including its failure to address aggravation of a heart condition by in-service herbicide exposure. The Veteran's unemployability is also linked to his claimed heart disability.

The Veteran's death was caused by glioblastoma multiforme, which the Board found to be related to herbicide exposure. The appellant filed her DIC claim within a year of the Veteran's death and provided new service department records that were not available at the time of the original decision. As a result, the effective date for the award of DIC is set to June 1, 2007.

The Veteran's death was not service-connected, and thus he did not meet the criteria for nonservice-connected burial benefits.

Your appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board does not have jurisdiction to proceed with your claims as they are no longer valid.

The Board found that the appellant's income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) and thus terminated her VA survivor's pension benefits as of February 1, 2005.