Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Veteran's service-connected coronary bypass may have worsened, and a remand is needed to assess the current severity of his condition. The issue of TDIU has also been raised and needs further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his intervertebral disc syndrome with degenerative changes, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion or incapacitating episodes.

The Veteran's ulcerative colitis is found to be related to his active duty service, and he is granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has dismissed the appellant's claim as D.LaS.J is already included in her DIC award and no longer a dependent child under 18, thus denying additional DIC benefits for an over-18 dependent.

The Veteran's service-connected idiopathic thrombocytopenia is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional treatment records from his hematologist.

The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1151 due to poor vision and residuals of right eye cataract surgery is remanded as the VA examination did not address whether his drooping eyelid was caused by the surgery.

The Board has granted an effective date of November 18, 2016 for the addition of the Veteran's son A. as his dependent to his award of VA disability compensation.

The Board has requested VHA opinions on the cause of the Veteran's death and remanded the case for further consideration. The appellant submitted additional evidence, including a VHA medical opinion response form, which she did not waive RO consideration of.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of compliance with its previous instructions regarding the Veteran's chronic ear infections. A new examination is required to determine the nature and etiology of any bilateral ear disability present.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current clavicle disability and whether it is related to service. The Veteran served in the Navy from December 1978 to January 1979, during which he reported left shoulder pain after falling on his left shoulder. He had a history of a fracture in 1975. A VA examiner will be needed to provide an opinion regarding these issues.

The Board denied service connection for scleroderma, finding that the Veteran's condition was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not otherwise related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected fifth phalanx amputation with absence of distal phalanx is rated at a 10 percent disability rating, effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's claim for a separate rating for recurrent boils on the buttocks area and his TDIU claim have been denied. The Board found that the symptoms of the boils overlapped with those considered in his existing cyst excision rating, resulting in pyramiding. His skin conditions do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's periods of service in the Army National Guard qualify as creditable active duty for purposes of determining educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, resulting in a 70% benefits payment rate.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for retroactive induction into a VA vocational rehabilitation and employment program, finding that an extended evaluation was necessary to determine the feasibility of his vocational goal.

The Veteran's cause of death, pulmonary fibrosis, is not related to service or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 40 percent for service-connected right disc displacement, temporomandibular joint was denied. The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to August 13, 2016 for service connection for right disc displacement, temporomandibular joint was also denied.

The overpayment of VA disability compensation benefits due to concurrent receipt with active service pay was corrected, and the appeal for waiver of recovery is granted.

The Veteran's income from Social Security exceeded the maximum annual pension limit for a veteran with no dependents, so his nonservice-connected pension benefits were denied.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred during a non-VA hospitalization at West Marion Community Hospital from November 7, 2014 through November 10, 2014 are now covered by VA due to the reversal of previous decisions.