Other conditions decisions — 2021

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a mood disorder, finding that it is not caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral pes planus. The TDIU claim remains pending and will be referred to the Director of Compensation Service.

The Veteran's death was not related to any service-connected disability, and the Board denied his claim for service connection for cause of death due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional development and readjudication, including obtaining a VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for right orbital fracture residuals with photophobia due to issues related to the interplay between his service-connected eye disability and migraine headaches. The case is referred to the VA Director of Compensation Services for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection for tibia stress fractures in both lower extremities due to a lack of adequate reasons and bases. The claims are being remanded for further development, including obtaining missing service treatment records and providing new opinions on whether the current disabilities are related to ACDUTRA service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient updated information regarding the appellant's income and net worth, as of her original application in July 2011. The VA Pension Management Center (PMC) previously denied pension benefits based on the appellant’s high net worth.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination regarding secondary service connection for gastrointestinal disability, including as related to PTSD and sleep apnea.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for blurred vision with pain, finding no current disability subject to service connection related to her claimed condition.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to difficulties in obtaining the curriculum vitae of VA examiners from previous examinations. The Veteran and his representative will be contacted to determine if they wish to continue the search for these records, or obtain the available records of Dr. L.S. and Dr. C.A-W.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for numbness and tingling of the bilateral hands, finding that it was not shown to be related to his service-connected cervical spine disability or due to an undiagnosed illness from service in the Persian Gulf War.

The Board denied service connection for metastatic salivary duct carcinoma and a dental condition secondary to it, finding that the evidence did not support a direct relationship with service or any service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's esophageal cancer is related to exposure to asbestos in service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and opinion regarding whether the Veteran's skin conditions and hearing loss are related to service.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's chronic lichen simplex, finding that his condition did not meet the criteria for any higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal prior to the Board's decision being finalized.

The Board has decided that there are discrepancies in the records regarding the recoupment of disability severance pay and is requesting further audits to clarify these issues.

The Board granted a waiver of the recovery of an overpayment in VA improved death pension benefits due to financial hardship, despite the Appellant not reporting all her income.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of left and right leg disabilities due to insufficient development, including obtaining additional medical opinions on causation.

The Veteran's claim for SMC based on housebound status prior to January 7, 2015 was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have a single service-connected disability rated at 100% and did not meet the criteria for TDIU due to his PTSD alone.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right hip replacement, s/p right hip DJD, as it determined that there was no evidence to support that his condition was caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral plantar warts.