Other conditions decisions — 2022

The Board has determined that C.A.S. is the Veteran's legally married dependent spouse for VA purposes, effective from August 2014.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pneumonia had its onset in service and if it contributed to his death from CAD. The VA needs to obtain a new medical opinion from a pulmonologist or cardiologist.

The Veteran's service connection claim for pulmonary fibrosis is granted due to the PACT Act, as he served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The Board found that his pulmonary fibrosis was not incurred or aggravated by service and did not meet the criteria for a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI).

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a disability productive of muscle spasms and entitlement to TDIU, finding that there is no current disability associated with these conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for his left mandible condition due to insufficient evidence and need for an additional VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected history of tonsillectomy does not result in any current disabilities that would warrant a compensable disability rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected right foot residuals aggravated his claimed right foot disability, including sinus tarsi syndrome and arthritis.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the current groin injury is related to an in-service injury. The Veteran's lay statements will be considered, and a new VA examination will be conducted.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that the only diagnosed condition during and in proximity to the appeal period was a personality disorder. Personality disorders are not diseases or injuries subject to service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lung disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's essential tremors are present during his active service and have persisted since then, meeting the criteria for direct service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for anemia, finding that it did not arise from his active duty service or due to herbicide exposure. The Board also found no causal link between the diabetes mellitus and the anemia.

The Veteran's appeal seeking an earlier effective date for the award of a 40 percent disability rating for his left thigh shrapnel wound has been dismissed as the Veteran's representative withdrew the appeal.

The Board has remanded the claims for left leg, right pelvic, and left pelvic disorders due to inadequate VA medical examinations and opinions. Additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's cause of death, carcinoma of the pharynx, was not service-connected as it did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period and continuity of symptomatology is not established. The Board found no evidence linking the cancer to his in-service herbicide exposure.

The claim for service connection for cause of death is dismissed due to the appellant's death.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased rating for left elbow bursitis and TDIU due to insufficient development of medical evidence regarding the impact of pain with weight-bearing on the Veteran's range of motion.

The Veteran's esophageal adenocarcinoma and residuals of esophagectomy were not caused by or became worse as a result of VA treatment, and the additional disability did not result from carelessness, negligence, lack of skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of the VA attending personnel.

The Board dismissed the appeal with respect to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA pension benefits in the amount of $33,738.00 due to lack of a timely substantive appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hernia disability, which he claims was incurred during his active duty service, had its onset during his military service. The evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran suffers from a hernia disability and thus the benefit of the doubt rule has been applied, resulting in the grant of service connection.