Other conditions decisions — 2020

The case is remanded to obtain a retrospective medical opinion regarding the Appellant's state of mind at the time he committed offenses leading to his discharge from service. The examiner must consider various allegations and evidence related to the Appellant's mental health.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a brain tumor has been dismissed due to their death.

The Board has determined that the issue of nonservice-connected pension benefits prior to December 20, 2017 is remanded due to unclear calculations of unreimbursed medical expenses and discrepancies in Medicare premiums paid by the Veteran and his spouse. The case must be returned for further review.

The Veteran's cause of death due to gastric carcinoma is related to herbicide exposure in service, and the claim for death pension benefits has been dismissed as moot.

The Board dismissed the appeal of the overpayment of VA pension benefits in the amount of $19,775 because the Veteran did not file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) within one year from the notification letter that removed dependents from his award effective July 1, 2005.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for throat cancer, which was allegedly due to exposure to herbicides, has been dismissed because the Veteran died during the appeal process.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for herniated nucleus pulposus status post L5-S1 discectomy are remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to comply with requirements of Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. (2017).

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development and lack of compliance with previous instructions. The Veteran's lung condition claim is also being remanded for further examination and opinion regarding asbestos exposure and its relation to his service-connected heart disease.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding E.P.S.'s death, and for further development of records from the Philippine Statistics Authority and Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The case is being remanded for the VA to review additional VA treatment records and readjudicate the claim of entitlement to an initial rating higher than 10 percent for lichen planus prior to April 6, 2015, and higher than 30 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's coronary atherosclerosis was rated at 30 percent prior to November 15, 2019. From that date, the rating was increased to 60 percent.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical records and requests for further investigation.

The appeal for an apportionment of the Veteran's VA benefits is dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's surviving spouse was recognized as his dependent for VA purposes prior to his death.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a bilateral foot disorder, including pain and callouses, due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran will need to provide releases for private treatment records and undergo an examination to determine if his current condition is related to service.

The Veteran's insomnia disorder is granted a 30 percent disability rating effective June 1, 2014. Service connection for the right hip disability as secondary to bilateral knee disabilities is also granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a vision disability, finding that his current complaints are unrelated to any in-service eye injury and more likely due to natural aging.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for periodic limb movement syndrome with features of restless leg syndrome (also claimed as chronic fatigue) is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the claim for a nonservice-connected pension prior to January 29, 2019 due to an intertwined special monthly pension (SMP) claim. The SMP claim was granted in March 2020 but did not affect the readjudication of the original claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate and skin disorders, finding that additional evidence is needed to clarify the etiology of his conditions. The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam but not to burn pits or Camp Lejeune. He also had sun exposure during service.