Other conditions decisions — 2022

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bowel disability and male reproductive disability due to unclear etiology opinions.

The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic esophageal cancer, with Barrett's esophagus listed as a contributory cause. The Board found that the service-connected uncontrolled seizure disorder caused the Barrett's esophagus and thus contributed to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's appeal for restoration of education benefits under Chapter 33, Title 38 was denied because he did not lose credit or training time due to the closure of Heald College in April 2015. The decision is based on the fact that he completed his program prior to the school's closure.

The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA have been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of these cases.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and for meningioma due to inadequate development and lack of a proper medical opinion.

The Veteran's service-connected detrusor instability is currently rated at 20 percent prior to December 3, 2021 and 40 percent from that date. The Board finds there was not substantial compliance with the September 2021 remand directives due to inadequate consideration of lay evidence.

The Veteran's bilateral Tailor's bunions with varus deformity, fifth toe, were granted a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5284.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected hemorrhoids and his macrocytic anemia, which may allow for a separate evaluation under Diagnostic Code 7722.

The Board has remanded the claim for further development, including obtaining radiation dose information and addressing exposure to burn pits and other potential environmental exposures during service in Saudi Arabia.

The Veteran's service connection claims for granulomatous disease in the lungs and interstitial lung disease have been granted. The claim for an increased rating for allergic rhinitis with sinusitis from March 29, 2016 has been denied. The case is REMANDED to obtain a new VA hearing loss examination.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a broken nose and a sinus condition secondary to a broken nose due to inadequate opinions from the May 2012 VA examiner. The Veteran's broken nose and sinus condition are being evaluated again to determine if they are causally related to his service.

The Board denied the petition to reopen the claim of service connection for defective vision because new evidence did not relate to the unestablished issue of whether the condition was caused or aggravated by service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of malaria, and the Board dismissed the case as a result.

The Board has decided that the change in the Veteran's Means Test eligibility category from copay exempt to copay required for income year 2016 was not proper and has remanded the matter for further action.

The Board has decided that the claim should be returned to the HEC for further action regarding whether the change in the Veteran's Means Test eligibility category from copay exempt to copay required for income year 2013 was proper. The decision is based on missing documents provided by the Veteran.

The Board has granted service connection for a hiatal hernia as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The medical opinion concluded that PTSD likely contributed to weight gain, which in turn caused obesity and led to the hiatal hernia.

The Veteran's arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine were rated at 40 percent from March 21, 2018 to June 17, 2018.

The appeal was dismissed due to the appellant's death, and no final decision can be made.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for right and left hand disabilities due to inadequate examination reports in the previous decision.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's throat disability, including chronic throat inflammation and dysphagia, finding that it had its onset in service.