Other conditions decisions — 2023

The Veteran's claims of service connection for tinnitus, hearing loss (right ear), and cold injury have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for restrictive lung disease has also been dismissed.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral carotid artery stenosis, finding no causal relationship to the Veteran's military service or any service-connected conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the VA medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's trench foot and its residuals. The claim will be further developed for a new examination.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's appeal for further development and consideration due to inadequacies in previous opinions regarding service connection for his right knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand three issues: service connection for labral tears of the left hip, a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD with depression and alcohol use disorder, severe, in early remission (PTSD), and a rating in excess of 10 percent for traumatic brain injury (TBI) with memory loss (TBI). The Veteran's claims are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of new evidence.

The Board found that the overpayment of VA compensation benefits due to concurrent receipt of military service drill pay for FY 2016 was properly created and denied the appeal in that respect. The case is being remanded to obtain an updated Financial Status Report.

The Veteran's right hip injury residuals and left thigh myositis ossificans were evaluated, with the Board finding that there was no evidence of compensable disability for either condition. The case is remanded due to issues related to service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to February 13, 2017, for additional dependency compensation for his current spouse. The decision states that VA did not receive notification of the marriage within one year of the event and thus the appropriate effective date is the date of claim, which is February 13, 2017.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of urinary incontinence and the Veteran's reported symptoms are not supported by medical records. Therefore, service connection for urinary incontinence cannot be granted.

The Board has determined that there was not substantial compliance with the remand directives and has therefore ordered a new development to obtain the underlying warrant and NCIC offense code for the Veteran's arrest warrant.

The Board is remanding the case to determine if the appellant was a 'fugitive felon' under VA policy guidance, which could affect her DIC benefits.

The Veteran's claim to add his spouse L. as a dependent for VA purposes was denied due to the failure to submit a complete claim within one year of notification, and no earlier effective date is warranted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection, earlier effective date, and increased rating for her depressive disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and procedural deficiencies.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding additional VA educational assistance benefits, in excess of 15 months and 16 days under Chapter 33. The appeal is dismissed.

The Veteran's closed fracture of metacarpals of long finger and ring finger with boutonniere deformity of the right little finger is rated at a 10% disability rating, effective as of the date of this decision.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected hallux rigidus, left great toe. The evidence did not support an increase in disability rating beyond the current 10 percent.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was denied in January 2017. The appellant, the Veteran's surviving spouse, requested to substitute as the claimant but their request was dismissed because no appeal or pending claim existed at the time of the Veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate compliance with previous remand directives and a need for further development, including obtaining additional medical opinions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of an unspecified sleep disorder and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has dismissed the appeals of an increased rating for rash and a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) as requested by the Veteran.