Other conditions decisions — 2024

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for cause of death. The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is being remanded for a VA medical opinion regarding its likely etiology, including exposure to herbicides during active service.

The Board has found that the Veteran's skin cancer disabilities, including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are at least as likely as not related to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. However, a VA examination is needed to provide this opinion.

The Veteran's appeal for payment or reimbursement of non-VA medical care provided by Piedmont Newton Hospital has been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected hypertension was granted effective October 21, 2022. The Board found that there is no evidence of an increase in severity prior to this date.

The appeal for payment of the cost of non-VA emergency medical services provided on January 10, 2020, is dismissed.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of non-VA ambulance transport provided on September 1, 2023 was denied due to the claim being filed outside the 90-day timely filing limitation. The Board finds that remand is warranted to provide an adequate notice of decision addressing the 180-day time limit.

The Veteran's stage iii squamous cell carcinoma of the left lower lung is granted as service connected due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.

The Veteran's VR&E services claim was denied because he did not appear for the scheduled evaluation and failed to request a rescheduling. The Board found that the Veteran did not cooperate with VA in carrying out the initial evaluation.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for neutropenia/leukopenia was granted in a June 2022 rating decision effective August 18, 2009. The Board denied an earlier effective date as there were no claims received prior to this date.

The Veteran's appeal was initially denied for GERD and foot fungus. The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to obtain VA treatment records related to his claimed foot fungus condition.

The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for a neck disorder due to insufficient medical opinion and requires a new VA examination.

The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate VA examinations and new evidence not considered in the original decision.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for adding his spouse, B., to his VA disability compensation award. The Board finds that the current decision is not complete due to a missing recording of the Veteran's oral claim and remands the case to correct this.

The Board has determined that the validity of the overpayment amount needs to be formally adjudicated, and thus the case is being remanded for this purpose.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical evidence and a need for clarification of the Veteran's lung disability.

The Board has granted service connection for a dermatological condition (to include toenail and skin fungus) as it is at least as likely as not related to service.

The Veteran's initial compensable rating for mycosis fungoides with Sezary syndrome associated with alopecia areata is denied for the period from August 17, 2017 to January 8, 2020. A higher rating is also denied for this condition after that date. The Veteran's anemia was rated noncompensable until January 8, 2020 and then rated at 10 percent thereafter.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for SMC based on aid and attendance and housebound status, finding that he did not require regular aid and assistance or be permanently housebound due to his service-connected conditions. The decision also noted that non-service-connected disabilities contributed to his limitations.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for specially adapted housing and special home adaption.

The Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized non-VA medical expenses incurred in November 2017 were denied as the claims were not filed within the required timeframes.