Other conditions decisions — 2020

The Veteran's former spouse and mother of their minor child has been granted a monthly special apportionment of the Veteran’s VA compensation benefits on behalf of the minor child since December 5, 2018 in the amount of $650.00 due to financial hardship.

The Board has granted service connection for a mood disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected arthritis of the shoulders, finding that the current mood disorder is at least as likely as not related to the service-connected shoulder disability.

The Board has identified errors in the initial decision and requires further development to ensure that the Veteran's income and expenses were properly calculated for the applicable period.

The Veteran's appeal was denied for revision of the June 2017 rating decision granting a noncompensable rating for service connected right achilles tendonitis based on clear and unmistakable error, but granted an initial noncompensable rating for right achilles tendonitis from July 10, 2006.

The Board has granted service connection for unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his in-service exposure. The condition is rated at its highest possible level (100%) due to its severity.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate VA examination and a need for new evidence, specifically a new VA hand and finger examination.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a deviated nasal septum due to inadequate reasoning in the previous medical opinion and the need for a new addendum opinion considering the Veteran's lay statements regarding his March 2007 surgery.

The Board granted service connection for varicose veins, finding the evidence to be in relative equipoise.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of January 1, 2001 for the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to Agent Orange exposure. The decision is based on new evidence submitted in October 2016.

The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal, and the Board has dismissed it as a result.

The Board denied service connection for a skin disorder, finding that the Veteran's current condition is not related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal regarding larynx cancer was dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's diaphragm disability is granted as service connected, with the Board finding that it was caused by an in-service injury during his Vietnam service.

The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral foot condition as the July 2020 opinion is found inadequate and does not address all required elements.

The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, as the AOJ is still adjudicating it and has not issued a rating decision or supplemental statement of the case.

The Board granted service connection for a right hip disorder, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service parachute jumps.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for right ear Eustachian tube dysfunction as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right nephrectomy and rectal cancer with residuals, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or any service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the claims for a compensable rating for service-connected rhabdomyolysis with myoglobinuria and myoadenylate deaminase deficiency, TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, reopening of previously denied claims for right ankle disorder and hiatal hernia, and earlier effective date for lumbosacral strain. Additional evidence is needed, including VA treatment records and the Veteran's testimony at a hearing if requested.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lung disorder and remanded the claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The decision also noted that the Veteran does not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU due to his current combined evaluation of 50 percent.