Other conditions decisions — 2024

The Veteran's bilateral shin splints are rated at a 10 percent rating, effective July 31, 2023. The Board found that the evidence supports this rating as it reflects slight knee disability in each knee due to chronic pain.

The Veteran's death was not due to service-connected conditions, and therefore he is not eligible for nonservice-connected burial benefits.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) because there was no legal basis for TDIU prior to May 9, 2020. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone did not render him unemployable before this date.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional medical records to be obtained and a retrospective METs level assessment.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for gout is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The VA examination report from November 2020 was inadequate, and another examination is needed to properly rate all manifestations of the service-connected gout.

The appeal has been dismissed as the AOJ administratively approved the claim for payment of non-VA medical services provided on July 16, 2020.

The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for the Veteran's right eye hemifacial spasm and blepharospam, finding that his symptoms resulted in moderate incomplete paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected herpes, finding that the disability does not meet or approximate the criteria for a 10%, 30%, or 60% rating under the General Rating Formula for the Skin. The evidence shows no more than topical therapy required during the past 12-month period.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to incomplete records and a potential failure to exhaust third-party reimbursement options. The claim will be adjudicated under the applicable statutory provisions, including 38 U.S.C. § 1725.

The Veteran's request for a waiver of an overpayment debt in the amount of $11.10 was timely filed and granted.

The Board denied the Appellant's claim for recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse, stating that her divorce from the Veteran bars her from eligibility.

The Board denied service connection for a dental disability manifested by the loss of teeth 7, 8, 9, 10, and 13 due to lack of evidence showing that the missing teeth were due to loss of substance of the body of the maxilla or mandible without loss of continuity.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for loss of teeth is remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need for a proper medical examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for skin condition is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The Board finds that a VA examination should be conducted to determine if his current skin symptomology is directly related to service.

The Board found that the overpayment of VA compensation benefits was properly created due to the Veteran's failure to notify VA of his divorce from his spouse, resulting in continued payment based on a finding he was still married. The appeal is denied.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to reconsider the service connection claim for a left great toe disorder. The lung disorder claim is also remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sinus bradycardia is being remanded due to missing VA treatment records. The Board will seek additional VA treatment records, including VISTA imaging records and specialist examinations related to heart care.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on four different conditions have been dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's appeal for TDIU was dismissed because the claim was not adjudicated in the October 2023 rating decision, and the December 2023 appeal is invalid as it pertains to a different issue.

The Board dismissed the appeal as it did not pertain to any of the Veteran's claims and was instead an attempt to address issues unrelated to his case.