Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran is granted a clothing allowance due to the use of skin medication for his service-connected skin disorder, as these medications cause irreparable damage to clothing.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and requires a more detailed opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected lumbar strain and his left hip strain.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a retroactive payment for over recovery of a $4,800.00 lump sum payment made by VA on February 1, 2005, for apportionment payments that accrued from October 1, 2003 through April 1, 2009, finding no clear evidence to the contrary regarding additional monthly deductions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a distinct sleep disorder (insomnia) separate from his service-connected PTSD, major depressive disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea disabilities. Therefore, service connection for insomnia is denied.

The Veteran's overpayment debt is due to concurrent receipt of active service pay for a period of 4 drill days in FY 2014. The issue is whether the Veteran was paid for these 4 days, not if he attended drill training exercises.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for foot conditions (hammer toes, hallux valgus, and loss of longitudinal arch) as well as her claim for a disability rating for bilateral foot calluses. The Board found that there was no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active duty service.

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for additional dependency compensation based on his daughter's school attendance. The case is remanded to obtain specific dates of her attendance at Hillsborough Community College during the Summer and Fall terms.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's deviated nasal septum, finding that it was aggravated by an in-service injury while playing basketball.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of death and the etiology of stomach cancer. The appellant contends that the Veteran's stomach cancer was caused by Agent Orange exposure or benzene exposure during service.

The Veteran withdrew their appeal, so the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's right eye aphakia has resulted in complete blindness, and he is now entitled to a 40 percent rating for this condition.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine if the Veteran's cricopharyngeal muscle hypertrophy (also claimed as Schatzki ring stricture of the esophagus) is aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, and/or slow gastrointestinal (GI) motility with moderate tertiary contractions.

The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to obtain all relevant private treatment records related to the Veteran's aplastic anemia. The RO is instructed to attempt to secure these records and provide them to VA for review.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating and earlier effective date for a 10 percent rating for deformity of the nose was denied. The maximum schedular rating under Diagnostic Code 6502, 'septum, nasal, deviation of,' is already assigned, so no higher rating can be granted. For the earlier effective date claim, the Board found that the Veteran withdrew his appeal on this issue at a prior hearing and did not file a new claim until September 21, 2017, when an increase in disability was factually ascertainable.

The Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis is granted as service connected, with no specific exposure basis provided.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability and for nonservice-connected pension, finding that there was no evidence of a superimposed disease or injury during service that caused additional disability. The veteran's conditions were deemed congenital defects not subject to service connection.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Appellant's mental state at the time of misconduct leading to his discharge and whether this contributed to his misconduct. The AOJ is required to obtain updated treatment records, request a decision from the Navy Board of Correction of Naval Records, and conduct an examination by a VA clinician.

The Veteran's claim for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Mercy Hospital on September 6, 2015 is denied because the treatment was not provided for a service-connected condition and there was no indication that prior authorization was given.

The Board denied service connection for right and left hip disorders due to lack of evidence showing a direct link between the conditions and service.

The Veteran's claim for recognition of A.S. as a helpless child due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18 is remanded due to insufficient notice and incomplete medical records.