Other conditions decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring the AOJ to obtain private treatment records from Fondo Del Seguro del Estado and Hospital Capestrano.

The Veteran's other specified trauma or stressor related disorder is rated at 50 percent, but no higher, throughout the appeal period due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for nonservice-connected pension because they did not have active service during a period of war, and thus did not meet the eligibility requirements.

The appeal concerning the cost of non-VA medical services provided on July 25, 2020, has been dismissed as the claim was administratively approved.

The Board has granted an initial compensable disability rating of 10 percent for the appellant's anal or perianal fistula, finding that it manifests as occasional moderate leakage.

The Board has remanded the claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of both hands and upper extremities due to its inextricability with other pending claims. The AOJ is instructed to adjudicate all SMC claims within the same decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for superior mesenteric artery thrombosis and gastrointestinal bowel constipation/bowel frequency are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, was related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.

The appeal for educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill was dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical opinions and a need for further examination regarding the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability, including whether it is related to service or any service-connected conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left and right hip pain due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an adequate medical opinion regarding secondary service connection.

The Board has denied the appeals for payment of non-VA medical expenses incurred on January 3, 2021, and January 10, 2021, as there was no VA authorization for these services.

The Veteran's spouse does not qualify for a dependency allowance because the Department of Veterans Affairs did not receive notice of his marriage to his wife.

The Veteran's appeal for a waiver of overpayment due to retroactive removal of his ex-spouse was dismissed because the Committee granted the full waiver in July 2022, rendering moot any further consideration.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and opinion regarding service connection for conjunctivitis, bilateral watering eyes (epiphora), and their relationship to service-connected rhinitis and/or pinguecula.

The Board has remanded the case due to duty to assist errors and a need for an etiological opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer is related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure.

The Board has determined that there is a predecisional error in not obtaining a copy of the purported divorce between the Veteran and P.L. The matter must be resolved to determine if they legally divorced in March 2011.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating and extraschedular consideration for his service-connected left hydrocele disability is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The Board requires the VA to obtain all relevant treatment records, including those from March 2018 through April 2021, and schedule the Veteran for a VA examination.

The Board dismissed the appeal as it does not have authority to decide this VCCP payment matter, which must be appealed through VA's clinical appeals process.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for Reiter's syndrome, evaluated as 20 percent disabling from January 30, 2008, to July 19, 2019, and 40 percent disabling since July 20, 2019, is being remanded due to the need for further development.