Other conditions decisions — 2024

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsils with metastasis to the throat and neck, finding that it is not related to his active duty service. The evidence did not support a link between the cancer and exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for non-service-connected burial benefits, including plot or interment allowance and transportation expenses. The reasons include that the Veteran was not in receipt of VA compensation at the time of her death, did not have an original or reopened claim pending, and died from a non-service-connected cause while not admitted to a VA facility.

The Veteran withdrew his claim for Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) in a written correspondence received by the VA.

The Board dismissed the appeal because the claims were administratively approved and paid on April 12, 2021, and April 16, 2021.

Your appeal for a mental health condition, claimed as secondary to service-connected conditions, has been dismissed because your claim was already granted and there is no longer an issue to address.

The Board dismissed the claim as it is not within its jurisdiction to review the contractual payment rate for home health services provided under a Veterans Care Agreement (VCA).

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent disabling prior to December 9, 2020, for service-connected diverticulitis due to a lack of evidence showing severe irritable colon syndrome with diarrhea or alternating diarrhea and constipation with more or less constant abdominal distress.

The Board has dismissed the appeal as it does not have jurisdiction to review the contractual payment rate for home health services provided by MGHI to the Veteran in January 2020, due to a specific dispute resolution process established under VCA.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of right and left upper extremity cubital tunnel syndrome/ulnar nerve dysfunction due to procedural issues.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sickle cell anemia was granted with an effective date of January 15, 2021. The Board denied a request for an earlier effective date.

The Veteran's ventral hernia retro rectus repair with mesh, previously diagnosed as status post umbilical hernia repair, was granted a 20% rating from January 15, 2020, until December 29, 2020. From March 1, 2021, the Veteran's condition is rated at 0%. The effective date of the grant of service connection for this condition was January 15, 2020.

The Board dismissed the appeals for annual clothing allowances for various assistive devices due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an adequate opinion regarding whether the Veteran's urinary frequency is aggravated by his service-connected hypertension.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for service-connected bilateral alternating esotropia with bilateral diplopia and history of left eye consecutive exotropia is being remanded due to a failure to obtain the Goldmann chart from the May 2014 VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left eye condition, including blindness, and as a result of VA medical care under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 remains denied because the evidence submitted is not new and relevant.

Your request to readjudicate a claim for service connection for a left eye condition was denied in September 2020, and the appeal is dismissed because it was filed more than one year after the decision.

The Board granted the Veteran's waiver request for overpayment of VA compensation benefits, finding it against equity and good conscience to recover the debt.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for a gastrointestinal disability is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ must obtain and consider private medical records from the Cleveland Clinic related to his gastrointestinal disorder before re-adjudicating his claim.

The Veteran's service period does not qualify as wartime service, thus he is denied nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of non-VA dental services provided on November 26, 2019, December 12, 2019, and January 21, 2020. The appeal is dismissed as there are no remaining allegations of error.