Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Veteran's son, P.M., is currently serving a life sentence and was in prison before the claim for recognition as a helpless child of the Veteran could be considered. As such, the Veteran's need to support his child has ended due to P.M.'s incarceration.

The Veteran's son is not eligible for accrued benefits as he did not meet the eligibility criteria and did not provide evidence of expenses incurred.

The Veteran's death during the appeal process means that his compensation benefits claim is dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and a need for a new VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's additional left eye disability was caused by VA care.

The Board has ordered the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to verify if the appellant's spouse had qualifying service during World War II and provide any additional evidence needed. The NPRC must also be provided with the claim folder and roster list.

The Board finds that a remand is required to determine ETS's countable income and unreimbursed medical expenses for the year 2012, as well as provide a detailed accounting of accrued death pension benefits.

The Veteran's overpayment of VA disability compensation benefits was denied as the appeal is based on a retroactive adjustment due to removal of her spouse from the award, and she failed to notify VA of her divorce in a timely manner.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for muscle and joint pain, sleep disturbances, and gastrointestinal disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations. The claim for an increased rating for mood disorders is also being remanded.

The Board is requesting clarification on whether the Veteran had a diagnosis of Crohn's disease at any time during the period on appeal and if it is related to his military service or aggravated by his service-connected cholecystectomy.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a missing Financial Status Report from October 2014, and requests that the Veteran provide an updated report.

The Veteran's death was caused by heat stroke and cardiac standstill, but he had no service-connected disabilities at the time of his death. Therefore, his cause of death is not service connected.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the appellant requested to withdraw their appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for residuals of surgery to remove right ovary and arthritis, as secondary to that condition. The case is being returned due to inadequate opinions from a previous VA examination.

The Veteran's non-VA medical care at Sarasota Memorial Hospital on February 1, 2016 was for a condition of such nature that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected delay in obtaining treatment to be hazardous. The nearest VA facility was not feasibly available and an attempt to use it beforehand would not have been considered reasonable by a prudent layperson.

The Board found that the appellant's discharge from service was due to willful and persistent misconduct, which bars VA benefits. The Board did not find evidence of insanity at the time of misconduct.

The overpayment of $6,963.00 for the removal of the Veteran’s spouse as a dependent was validly created and waived except for one month between November 1996 to December 1996.

The Board has remanded the case due to failure to request documents from Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding the appellant's application for survivor benefits in 1993. The claim will be readjudicated with consideration of 38 C.F.R. § 3.152(a).

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant did not meet the income requirements for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased payment of non-service-connected disability pension benefits was denied because the RO used the gross monthly benefit from his Social Security Administration (SSA) as his countable income, resulting in a correct calculation of $82.00 per month beginning March 1, 2012 and $84.00 beginning December 1, 2012.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of broken fingers is denied as there is no current disability found.