Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands the cases for further action.

The Board has determined that the reduction in VA disability compensation for the recoupment of 45 days of military drill pay for FY 2019 was improper and granted the appeal.

The Veteran's pulmonary embolism is being remanded due to an inadequate VA examination and the need for clarification on whether it was caused by or made worse by VA treatment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's post-polio syndrome condition clearly and unmistakably existed prior to active service, and did not undergo a permanent increase in severity beyond its natural progression during active service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) committed a pre-decisional duty to assist error by failing to provide details of the evidence relied on to reach its conclusion regarding the distance from the Veteran's residence to the closest VA facility and how the mileage was calculated for the specific episodes of care. The case is therefore being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's urinary disability, including urinary dysfunction with frequency, nocturia, dysuria, and chronic urinary hesitancy, is found to be caused by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board has granted service connection for atrial dilation and ventricular arrhythmias as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for severance of service connection for metastatic bone cancer and discontinuation of basic eligibility for Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) due to a finding of clear and unmistakable error in the original grant of service connection, and because the Veteran did not have a permanent and total service-connected disability during the relevant period.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for dermatophytosis was granted with a March 7, 2014 effective date. The Board found that the Veteran had previously filed a claim for PB (shave bumps) in 2010 and did not raise the issue of dermatophytosis until his March 2014 Notice of Disagreement.

The Board has determined that the notification of the decision was legally inadequate and there is a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The claim for eligibility for benefits under VA's PCAFC program needs to be remanded for proper legal notice and an adequate medical decision.

The Board denied the appellant's request for MHA at a higher rate from March 1, 2019 to May 4, 2019 due to her taking solely online courses and not meeting the eligibility criteria for a higher rate based on distance learning.

The Board found that the overpayment of compensation benefits in the amount of $564.00, due to a retroactive reduction in VA benefits for an incarcerated Veteran, was valid and denied the appeal as to its validity.

The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for adding his child J. and spouse A. as dependents, finding that the appropriate dates were August 21, 2019, and September 2, 2020 respectively.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in pre-decisional duty to assist, specifically regarding verification of service in the Persian Gulf War. The Veteran's prostatitis with urinary impairment is being reviewed again for proper service connection.

The Veteran died from non-service-connected causes while hospitalized by VA. The appellant was awarded burial benefits based on the specific statutory and regulatory guidelines, but additional nonservice-connected burial benefits are not warranted as there being no doubt to be resolved.

The Veteran's appeal for payment or reimbursement of medical services provided at Baylor Scott & White the Heart Hospital Denton on March 20, 2019 was withdrawn by his accredited representative.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses associated with ambulance travel on August 18, 2017. The decision is based on resolving all doubt in favor of the appellant.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic gastric cancer, was related to his active-duty service at Camp Lejeune. The benefit of doubt has been applied in favor of the claim.

The Veteran is granted an initial disability rating of 100 percent for left lower lobectomy s/p squamous cell carcinoma (claimed as squamous cell carcinoma) under Diagnostic Code (DC) 6819 from August 10, 2022, for the six-month period following cessation of treatment.

The Veteran's son, M., is claimed to be permanently incapable of self-support due to Down Syndrome. The Board has ordered the VA to obtain his SSA records for further review.