Other conditions decisions — 2020

The Veteran's other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder has been rated at 30 percent since April 22, 2019. The Board found that the symptoms most closely approximate a 30 percent rating - occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks but generally functioning satisfactorily.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and readjudicating the service connection claim.

The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board has determined that the appellant's net worth is not excessive for receiving death pension benefits, given her life expectancy and income. The appeal based on net worth is granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tongue cancer is remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need to verify herbicide agent exposure in the offshore waters of Vietnam.

The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of entitlement to service connection for right ear infections and otitis media because no new and relevant evidence was presented.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection for Barrett's esophagus or gastritis, nasal fracture residuals, and plantar fasciitis. However, the claim for gastrointestinal disorders is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.

The Veteran's claim for payment of authorized medical care provided by Generation Care Ivy-Grand Haven on and after August 29, 2019 is remanded due to the lack of documentation for the period after that date.

The Veteran's appeal is partially granted, with a remand for further action on the service connection claim. The initial rating for other specified trauma related disorder remains at 30 percent. Service connection for colon cancer and its relation to asbestos exposure is also remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, mantle cell lymphoma, is due to herbicide agent exposure during his service in Thailand. As a result, the claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted.

The Board has identified a pre-decisional duty to assist error and has ordered the AOJ to correct it by obtaining all relevant documents, including correspondence from the Debt Management Center regarding overpayment amounts for educational assistance benefits. The appellant must be provided with an audit of these overpayments.

The Veteran's initial rating for uterine fibroid with menorrhagia, claimed as excessive bleeding, is granted at a 30 percent level prior to July 31, 2009. From July 31, 2009, the condition is rated noncompensable.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal as the overpayment of compensation benefits was properly created due to his failure to notify VA of a change in dependency status.

The Board dismissed the appeal as the appellant requested to withdraw it, and no specific error of fact or law was alleged.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(p) at the rate equal to subsection (m) is denied as he did not have a service-connected disability independently ratable at 100% prior to June 11, 2017.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left elbow tendonitis. The Veteran needs to provide a VA medical opinion on whether his current condition is related to service.

The Veteran's child, B., was granted additional dependency benefits based on school attendance in November 2016. The appeal for an earlier effective date for the addition of his spouse, M., to his VA disability compensation is dismissed as there is no case or controversy affecting the provision of benefits by VA over which the Board may exercise jurisdiction.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the addition of his spouse, M., was denied because the earliest communication that could be construed as a claim for recognition of M. as the Veteran’s dependent spouse for VA purposes was received on March 25, 2013, which is the earliest possible effective date.,The Veteran's child, C., was granted additional dependency benefits based on school attendance from July 1, 2012 to January 1, 2014. The appeal for an earlier effective date for these benefits is denied because the claim was not filed within one year of C.'s 18th birthday.

The Board has granted service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, finding that the Veteran's exposure to environmental hazards during his military service is at least as likely as not related to his condition. Service connection for steroid-induced hyperglycemia was denied due to it being a laboratory finding and not a recognized disability.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for spinal injuries and myelodysplasia, finding no evidence of a nexus between his current disabilities and his military service. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's claimed conditions and his service.

The Board has granted vacatur of the March 2020 decision due to the RO receiving new evidence from the Appellant but failing to issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). The appeal is remanded for the AOJ to consider this new evidence and any other evidence added since May 2016, and then issue an SSOC.