Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran's spouse does not qualify for a dependency allowance because the Department of Veterans Affairs did not receive notice of his marriage to his wife.

The Veteran's appeal for a waiver of overpayment due to retroactive removal of his ex-spouse was dismissed because the Committee granted the full waiver in July 2022, rendering moot any further consideration.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and opinion regarding service connection for conjunctivitis, bilateral watering eyes (epiphora), and their relationship to service-connected rhinitis and/or pinguecula.

The Board has remanded the case due to duty to assist errors and a need for an etiological opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer is related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure.

The Board has determined that there is a predecisional error in not obtaining a copy of the purported divorce between the Veteran and P.L. The matter must be resolved to determine if they legally divorced in March 2011.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating and extraschedular consideration for his service-connected left hydrocele disability is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The Board requires the VA to obtain all relevant treatment records, including those from March 2018 through April 2021, and schedule the Veteran for a VA examination.

The Board dismissed the appeal as it does not have authority to decide this VCCP payment matter, which must be appealed through VA's clinical appeals process.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for Reiter's syndrome, evaluated as 20 percent disabling from January 30, 2008, to July 19, 2019, and 40 percent disabling since July 20, 2019, is being remanded due to the need for further development.

The Board has dismissed the appeal because it is not within its jurisdiction to review the contractual payment rate for non-VA medical services provided under a Veterans Care Agreement (VCA).

The appeal has been dismissed as the claims for reimbursement of ambulance transportation services provided by First Responder EMS Inc. on July 11, 2019 and July 14, 2019 have been resolved in full.

The Board dismissed the appeal because VHA overturned its initial denial of payment for care provided to the Veteran on August 2, 2019, after determining it was timely submitted.

The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional error in determining the Appellant's eligibility for Chapter 1606 benefits under the MGIB-SR program. The VA must request another notice of entitlement from the Department of Defense.

The Veteran's CVID is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating as there were no incapacitating episodes or non-incapacitating sinusitis episodes during the appeal period.

The Veteran's overpayment of VA compensation benefits was waived due to financial hardship, as the debt would cause undue hardship and prevent the Veteran from affording basic necessities.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the amount paid by other health insurance and/or Medicare as to the Veteran's episode of care from December 24, to December 25, 2019, at St. Anthony's Medical Center and what portion of the balance remains.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's neck disorder, which is believed to have occurred during Officer Candidate School (OCS). The VA examiner found that the condition clearly and unmistakably preexisted service but did not consider all periods of service or the Veteran's statements about symptoms during deployment.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than August 20, 2020, for recognition of S. as his spouse for the purpose of additional dependency compensation is denied due to lack of evidence received within a year of the event and failure to notify VA of marital changes.

The Board has determined that the previous denial of service connection for a right foot disability was due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's current condition is being remanded for further evaluation and opinion regarding whether his arthritis and cold injury residuals are related to service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error and will consider evidence not previously considered in determining service connection for low back pain.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse, finding that their marriage did not meet the required criteria due to it occurring more than one year after the Veteran's separation from service.