Tuberculosis decisions — 2013

The Board has determined that the veteran's cause of death was primarily due to ischemic heart disease, which is presumed to have been incurred in service as a consequence of his time as a POW. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and no jurisdiction remains for the merits of this claim.

The Veteran's disability rating for residuals of tuberculosis peritonitis was increased to 30 percent, effective March 24, 2006.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the percentage rating standards for TDIU, and his combined rating is 50 percent. The Board finds that he is not unemployable due solely to service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's cause of death was listed as aspiration pneumonia with an antecedent cause of pulmonary tuberculosis. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to his active service and denied the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrest due to cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, dementia, old tuberculosis (TB), and lobectomy. The service-connected conditions do not appear to have contributed substantially or materially to his death.

The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not caused by, or substantially or materially contributed to by, a disability incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service.

The Board determined that the Veteran was not entitled to a removal of the forfeiture of VA benefits due to his service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis, which had been established by medical records and an X-ray dated in 1951.

The Veteran's tuberculosis is being reviewed for service connection, and the secondary conditions of hypertension, peyronie's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, skin condition, and depression are dependent on the outcome of this review.

The Board found that the Veteran's arthritis did not have its onset during service or within one year after separation, and could not be presumed to have been incurred therein. The claim was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right inguinal hernia, hypertension, and respiratory disability (claimed as pulmonary tuberculosis or positive Mantoux /purified protein derivative (PPD) test), finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board found that the Veteran did not have any of the claimed conditions during service or within one year thereafter, and thus denied all claims for service connection.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for tuberculosis, previously characterized as chronic granuloma (tuberculosis). The Veteran's statements regarding his exposure to tuberculosis during service have raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating this claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete medical records and authorization issues. The Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary tuberculosis is pending.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for initial consideration of all evidence on the merits, including a VA medical opinion.

The Veteran is seeking retroactive payment of VA disability compensation benefits for the period from October 1972 to May 2000. The Board has ordered additional development due to unclear dates of receipt of military retired pay and active duty pay during this period.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including tuberculosis and a right-eye disability, meet the schedular requirements for TDIU. However, due to delays in obtaining updated employment information from his employer and additional VA examination records, the case is being remanded for further development.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed conditions, including shrapnel wound of the left leg, malaria, hearing loss, and pulmonary tuberculosis, were not incurred or aggravated during his active duty service. The appeal was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a proctology examination to assess the current severity of his hemorrhoids with anal fissure.