Other conditions decisions — 2025

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of TDIU, finding that it is not factually ascertainable that there was an increase in disability such that it rendered the Veteran unemployable during the year preceding the December 5, 2022 claim.

The Board granted service connection for cardiovascular disease, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.

The Board granted a 70 percent rating for obsessive compulsive disorder (service-connected psychiatric disability) and remanded the issue of entitlement to Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).

The appeal seeking increased ratings for the service-connected right and left knee conditions was withdrawn by the Veteran before a decision could be made.

The Board remands the matter to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring the AOJ to obtain and associate all pertinent documents and records pertaining to the claim on appeal with the Veteran's electronic claims file.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as there was no evidence showing that his death was related to or the result of his military service.

The appeal seeking additional attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in a September 2024 rating decision is dismissed.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) and restored the 40 percent rating for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), but upheld the discontinuance of a separate 10 percent rating for tinnitus.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the 10 percent rating of bilateral hearing loss disability, as no medical evidence was received within the one-year look-back period that would warrant an earlier effective date.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for left arm numbness due to inadequate medical evidence.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of a 100 percent disability rating is dismissed as a matter of law.

The Board denied service connection for right and left thumb strain as there was no evidence of a chronic disability in service or within one year following discharge, and the current conditions were not shown to be related to service.

The Board denied service connection for insomnia disorder as it is not related to the Veteran's active service or a service-connected disability.

The appeal for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death was dismissed due to a withdrawal by the Appellant's representative.

The appeal for beneficiary travel benefits special mode of transportation was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board denied the Appellant's request to be recognized as a substitute claimant and for accrued benefits, stating that he did not meet the eligibility criteria.

The Board granted the Veteran's challenges to the validity of the amount of his overpayment, reducing the period of the overpayment from September 1, 2014, to October 31, 2023, to the first day of the month following the month of T.E.G. and the Veteran's divorce to the last day of the month during which the overpayment was created.

The Board denied service connection for a TMJ condition and a dental condition, but remanded the issue of service connection for a peripheral vestibular disorder (claimed as dizziness and vertigo).

The appeal for recognition of N.C. as the Veteran's dependent spouse for purposes of dependency benefits is dismissed because the issue has been resolved.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for acute myelogenous leukemia due to an inadequate medical opinion and a need to address direct service connection.