Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Veteran's claim for service connection for insomnia, claimed as sleep disturbances and previously denied as sleep apnea, secondary to service-connected tinnitus is remanded due to insufficient evidence. The VA examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether the insomnia was caused or aggravated by the service-connected tinnitus.

The appellant's late husband served under other than honorable conditions and was discharged due to AWOL. As a result, he is not eligible for VA benefits, including DIC.

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has decided to remand the issue of entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation benefits in the amount of $24,056.79 due to incarceration in excess of 60 days following conviction of a felony for further review regarding whether the creation of the debt was valid.

The Board has found that the appellant's overpayment debt of $62,959.83 was improperly created due to a sole administrative error and is therefore remanded for further action.

The Board found that a copy of the Statement of the Case was not sent to the Veteran's attorney, and thus no substantive appeal was timely filed. The appeal is denied.

The Veteran's TDIU and SMC at the housebound rate are granted due to his service-connected chronic venous insufficiency of the right lower extremity from January 3, 2001 to February 27, 2013.

The petition to reopen the previously denied claim for a back disability is granted. The Veteran's low back disability (multilevel spondylosis with spinal and foraminal stenosis L3-L4) is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's right eye disability claim should be remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's claims for Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) and Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) education benefits were denied as he did not meet the service requirements or qualify for any exceptions to those requirements.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the previously denied claim of service connection for a left big toe disorder has not been received, thus denying the petition.

The Veteran's death was not due to a service-connected disability, and he did not have any pending claims for benefits at the time of his death. Therefore, he is not eligible for nonservice connected burial benefits.

The Veteran died from pneumonia due to septic shock caused by lung cancer. The claim for nonservice-connected burial benefits is denied as the Veteran was not in receipt of VA compensation or pension at the time of his death and did not have a pending claim for such.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's respiratory condition, specifically whether it is related to service in Southwest Asia. The Veteran was exposed to burn pits during her deployments to Djibouti.

The Board denied an effective date prior to December 1, 2007 for the establishment of the Veteran's current spouse as a dependent for dependency allowance due to lack of notice.

The overpayment of VA pension benefits was validly created, but the Veteran's request for a waiver of recovery was not timely filed and thus denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for residuals of stress fracture right third metatarsal and a rating in excess of 20 percent for post phlebitic syndrome right femoral vein due to lack of current VA treatment records and possible outstanding non-VA records.

The Board has decided that further action is needed to determine if the appellant's claim for nonservice-connected burial benefits is valid, and has remanded the case.

The appeal for the waiver of recovery of overpaid VA pension benefits has been dismissed due to the appellant's death.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a right medial sesamoid fracture are currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that this rating is appropriate given the evidence showing occasional mild pain in his right foot.