Other conditions Board decisions

The Board finds that the reduction of the rating for fracture of the coccyx distal bone from 10 percent to noncompensable, effective April 1, 2021, was proper based on evidence showing a sustained and material improvement in the Veteran's service-connected fracture of the coccyx distal bone.

The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $6,891.79 due to a potential error in the first instance.

Your claim for payment of non-VA medical services provided on September 3, 2020 has been resolved in full by administrative action. The appeal is dismissed as the benefit sought was granted.

The Board dismissed the claim for payment or reimbursement of non-VA medical expenses incurred at Hazelton Surgery Center on September 10, 2020 due to approval by the agency of original jurisdiction.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an effective date of April 18, 2015 for adding his current spouse as a dependent. The claim was denied because the Veteran did not file a claim within one year of their marriage.

The Veteran's daughter applied for and received burial benefits, but the appellant submitted her claim nearly two years later. The Board denied the appellant's claim as she did not meet the priority criteria established by VA.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for denervation atrophy and inclusion body myositis due to insufficient examination opinions and consideration of new evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for malignant neoplasm of lymph nodes head, face, neck and stage two squamous cell carcinoma head and neck due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service or to contaminated water exposure.

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.