Other conditions decisions — 2024

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to his service-connected conditions, finding that none of his service-connected conditions contributed to his cause of death.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date prior to May 4, 2018, for individual unemployability. The decision found that the procedural clock started on May 4, 2018, when the Veteran first submitted a claim.

The Veteran's bilateral dry eyes are not secondary to his service-connected pterygium of the left eye and are not otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Veteran's inactive pterygium of the left eye has caused no documented incapacitating episodes.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for adjustment disorder with depressed mood, chronic (claimed as a mental disorder with insomnia) is granted.

The appeal for payment or reimbursement of non-VA medical services provided on July 15, 2020 is dismissed as the episode of care was already processed and paid according to VA policy.

The Board has found a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not verifying the Veteran's exposure to asbestos during his service at the Air Force Academy Chapel. The claim is remanded for further development, including obtaining an examination and opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's chronic lymphocytic leukemia and service.

The appeal for Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on Aid and Attendance is dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The claim was also untimely as the Notice of Disagreement was filed more than one year after the rating decision.

The Veteran's esophageal cancer is not service-connected, and the Board denies entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to esophageal cancer.

The Board has dismissed the appeal for lack of a timely notice of disagreement, as the issue was adjudicated in the March 2020 Rating Decision.

The Veteran's service-connected other specified trauma and stressors related disorder is granted an initial 70 percent disability rating. The appeal for entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed.

The appeal for payment of non-VA medical services provided on July 29, 2020 is dismissed due to a defect in the claims processing rules.

The Board has granted the appellant's claim to be recognized as a substitute for any claims pending at the time of the deceased claimant's death. The original claims by the deceased claimant are now remanded for initial adjudication.

The appeal was dismissed as the issue of entitlement to payment for non-VA medical care provided on February 15, 2020, has been resolved by administrative action.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sexual dysfunction, claimed as loss of sexual desire and erectile dysfunction, is service-connected. Service connection was denied for myofascial pain syndrome, poor sleep due to pain, and syringomyelia.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for Crohn's disease with use of immunosuppressant medication to include scar is remanded due to the failure to obtain a VA examination prior to the March 2020 decision on appeal.

The Veteran's atrioventricular block with implantable pacemaker is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating as his condition does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal of the issue regarding entitlement to service connection for left elbow injury prior to his death, and as a result, the Board has dismissed this appeal.

The Veteran's appeal for a waiver of indebtedness has been dismissed due to their death. The appeal is also dismissed as it does not survive the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's appeal based on a VA Form 10182 filed in February 2022 is dismissed as the form did not identify a specific determination with which he disagreed.

The Board found that the Veteran's VA Form 9 was timely filed as to the March 2018 SOC, and reinstated the underlying legacy appeal.