Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia should be remanded due to a lack of private treatment records.

The Board has denied service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left ear, finding that it was not incurred in or related to service. The other issues are remanded due to need for additional development and examination.

The Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital were denied because the claims were not filed within 90 days after his discharge from the hospital.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to confirm the Veteran's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations and to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his claimed Gulf War illness.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for the addition of his spouse to his VA disability compensation is denied. The earliest possible effective date, October 23, 2009, was established when he first had a combined disability rating of at least 30 percent.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left hip disabilities due to incomplete records, including those from his National Guard service. The Veteran will need a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any hip disability.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection of a prostate disorder is granted. Service connection is denied.,Entitlement to a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board has granted the reopening of service connection for basal cell carcinoma and has determined that there is a nexus between the Veteran's exposure to radiation and Agent Orange during his military service and his development of basal cell carcinoma. The claim is therefore granted.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to additional development needed, including obtaining medical records and information from the Social Security Administration.

The Board found that the creation of an overpayment due to VA's failure to acknowledge the Veteran's report of his spouse's death was administrative error, and thus granted the appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate examination reports and the need for a new VA eye examination.

The Board dismissed the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a premature Notice of Disagreement filed before receiving notification of the rating decision.

The Veteran's death did not result in any accrued benefits as there were no pending claims at the time of his death and he was not entitled to any unpaid VA monetary benefit.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA death benefits due to her divorce from the Veteran prior to his death.

The Veteran's death was not service connected, and the appellant did not provide evidence of a pending claim for compensation or pension benefits. The Veteran died in a VA facility but had no claims for burial benefits at the time of his death.

The Veteran's death is not shown to be proximately caused by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault. The Board finds the appellant's contentions with respect to the Veteran’s death are not competent.

The Veteran's claim for burial benefits was denied as he did not meet the criteria for nonservice-connected burial benefits due to lack of receipt of VA compensation or pension benefits at the time of his death and no evidence of VA care prior to his death.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding his neurological disability of the upper extremities and visual impairment.

The Board denied an initial compensable evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected inguinal hernia, finding that his condition did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 7338.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right foot disorders, including Achilles tendinitis and Morton's neuroma. Additional examination is needed to address these issues.