Other conditions decisions — 2022

The Board denied service connection for right and left hip disorders, as well as a temporary total rating based on surgery for the left hip disorder. The Veteran's hip disorders were not shown in service or related to his service-connected lumbar spine disorder.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate January 2020 VA examination and insufficient statement of reasons and bases. The Veteran is entitled to a new examination.

The Board has decided that the change in the Veteran's Means Test eligibility category from copay exempt to prescription copay required for income year 2016 was proper and thus remanded due to missing documents.

The Board has determined that the appellant's discharge from naval service is no longer a bar to receiving VA benefits, as it was upgraded to under honorable conditions by the Board for Correction of Naval Records.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and Social Security Administration records. The Veteran's claim of service connection for a spine disability is being remanded due to the need for a new examination and consideration of continuity of symptomatology.

The appeal has been dismissed due to the appellant's death. The Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to reconcile conflicting findings regarding the Veteran's May 2014 left foot x-rays and to determine if his DJD of the left first metatarsal is related to service or service-connected conditions.

The Board found that the Veteran's income was below the National Means Test due to medical expenses, and thus the change in his means test eligibility category from copay exempt to copay required for income year 2016 was improper.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for upper and lower respiratory conditions, finding no evidence to support a link between his current conditions and in-service asbestos or herbicide exposure.

The claim for service connection for breast cancer is reopened and granted due to the submission of new evidence linking the condition to in-service exposure at Fort McClellan, Alabama.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bladder disorder is not proximately due to or aggravated by her service-connected low back disability, and thus denied her claim for secondary service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a nerve disorder, finding that her symptoms of right arm weakness and numbness are already adequately compensated by VA as they have been attributed to her now-service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left leg saphenous veins and a compensable rating for right leg post-operative saphenous veins, as well as his TDIU claim due to an updated VA examination being needed.

The Veteran's gout disability is being remanded for obtaining private treatment records and a VA medical opinion to determine if the condition began during ACDUTRA or is related to service.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for meralgia parasthetica, left lower extremity, from January 20, 2016, is denied as the evidence does not support a higher evaluation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a neurological disorder of the right upper extremity, finding that there was no evidence to support a secondary relationship between his service-connected mine fragment wound residuals and his current condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's attributable household income for 2015 exceeded the VA National Means Test threshold, and thus he is not eligible for copay-free healthcare. The appeal was denied.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to lack of evidence linking his conditions to military service or exposure to herbicides, and found that none of his service-connected disabilities contributed to his death.

The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to comply with the duty to assist, specifically regarding obtaining an adequate VA examination and ensuring it substantially complied with the September 2019 remand. The examiner must provide opinions on the possible etiologies of the Veteran's lung cancer, taking into account his specific history and lay evidence.

The Veteran's hiatal hernia with Barret's esophagus was manifested by persistently recurrent epigastric distress with dysphagia, pyrosis, reflux and regurgitation. The Board found that the symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.