Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has determined that the appellant was not married to the Veteran continuously until his death, and their separation in 1963 was due to the misconduct of the Veteran without fault on her part. Therefore, she is not eligible for recognition as the surviving spouse for VA death benefits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lipomas were not incurred in or aggravated by service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's mastoiditis of the right ear is not manifested by suppuration or aural polyps, and his symptoms of benign positional paroxysmal vertigo are not related to his mastoiditis. Therefore, he does not meet the criteria for an initial compensable rating.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for additional educational assistance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, finding that her election to switch from Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits to Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits was irrevocable and she is not eligible for an extension beyond 4 months and 28 days.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not meet the basic eligibility requirements for a one-time payment from the FVEC fund due to lack of qualified service, and thus denied the claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current neck and back disabilities are not related to his active duty service, nor can they be presumed to have been incurred therein. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess his ability to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional VA treatment records and for a comprehensive VA examination to address the muscle impairment associated with his service-connected right femur disability. The claims for secondary service connection for back, feet, and heel spurs are also pending.

The Board has determined that the appellant cannot be recognized as A.D.B.'s surviving spouse for purposes of establishing eligibility for death pension due to their divorce, and thus her claim is denied.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the appellant's disability rating for rheumatic fever residuals from 60 to 10 percent was not warranted, and has restored the original 60 percent rating.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for his service-connected right Achilles' tendonitis remains in controversy as the staged ratings before and from January 19, 2010 remain less than the maximum available benefit awardable. The case is REMANDED to obtain updated VA treatment records and an examination.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have recognized active military service for the purpose of obtaining the one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that the earliest date of receipt of her claim was May 8, 2009.

The VA determined that the Veteran's bronchiectasis was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and may not be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated therein.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for oligospermia, finding that it is not related to his military service and did not result from exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's disability rating for residuals of a fracture of the distal right humerus, status-post ORIF, remains at 10 percent and is not higher.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the Veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities and service-connected right vocal cord cancer. The RO must then rate each of these conditions and determine if they render the Veteran unemployable for purposes of non-service-connected pension.

The Board has remanded the case for several reasons, including issuing a Statement of the Case on the issue of CUE in prior RO rating decisions and obtaining additional medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's cause of death was related to his service or exposure to Agent Orange.

The Veteran's service-connected mandible fractures resulted in limited inter-incisal motion, warranting a 20 percent evaluation from August 22, 2005. The claim for an increased rating is granted.

The Board finds that the Veteran's anemia is related to his service-connected duodenal ulcer, status post gastrectomy and vagotomy. As such, the claim for secondary service connection for anemia is granted.