Other conditions decisions — 2023

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's joint pain and its relationship to service, service-connected IBS, or environmental exposure. The VA is required to obtain a new opinion addressing these issues.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity nerve damage, as secondary to pes planus. The VA examiner's opinion was not sufficient to address whether the nerve damage is related to the service-connected pes planus or if it got worse due to the pes planus.

The Board has determined that the reduction of a 100 percent rating for small lymphocytic lymphoma (B-cell) to a noncompensable rating was proper, and thus the appeal is denied.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for pseudomonas infection has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the appeal by his authorized representative.

The Veteran requested a withdrawal of his appeal for nonservice-connected pension, which was granted by the Board.

The Board has not provided the Veteran and his former spouse with all necessary documents related to their appeal, including copies of the December 2019 Statement of Case (SOC), February 2020 substantive appeal, August 2020 decision, September 2020 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), May 2020 certification letter, and July and November 2020 docketing letters. The Board has also not provided copies of the October 2020 certification letter to the former spouse. These documents must be sent to both parties.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claim of service connection for sleep disturbance, claiming as insomnia.

The Board found that the Veteran's pension rates were correctly calculated and denied the claim for higher pension rates for accrued benefit purposes as the appellant did not have unreimbursed expenses related to her father's last sickness or burial.

The Veteran's burial benefits have already been awarded the maximum amount of $2,000.00 due to a service-connected death, and no further compensation can be awarded.

The Board denied service connection for a heart condition and secondary service connection for the same condition, finding that there is no evidence linking the current conditions to service or service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's pleural plaques were granted a 60% evaluation from October 21, 2020 to the present. The appeal was denied for an evaluation in excess of 10% from May 8, 2018 to June 6, 2019 and for a 30% evaluation from June 7, 2019 to October 20, 2020.

The Board has remanded the cases for an addendum opinion to clarify whether the bilateral club foot disability is a congenital disease or defect, and if it is a defect, whether there was a superimposed injury or disease during service that resulted in disability apart from the congenital defect.

The Veteran's PUD was granted a 20% rating from February 15, 2023. Prior to that date, the condition was rated as noncompensable.

The Veteran's hip conditions have worsened, and a remand is required to determine the current level of impairment for her left and right hips. The issue of TDIU is also inextricably intertwined with the higher rating claims.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for atrial fibrillation, anemia, and lung pressure due to incomplete development of evidence. The appellant is seeking service connection for these conditions as related to her husband's active duty service.

The appeal for nonservice-connected death (survivor's) pension has been withdrawn by the appellant.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional development regarding the divorce proceedings of the Veteran and the appellant.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for spondylolisthesis and has determined that it is at least as likely as not aggravated by service. The Veteran was found entitled to service connection for this condition.

The Board dismissed the appeal for TDIU as the appellant requested to withdraw her appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional evidence and examination, specifically regarding the current severity of his service-connected eye disabilities.