Epilepsy & seizure disorders decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient competent medical evidence on file for making a decision regarding service connection of seizure disorder secondary to diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, muscle spasms, and Lewy Body dementia due to a lightning strike is dismissed because the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and readjudication due to unresolved issues regarding the Veteran's duty status during a period of active service in July 1997, which is crucial to determining whether he can establish service connection or restoration thereof for his ventricular tachycardia and seizure disorder.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a kidney disorder, seizure disorder, and headache disorder due to exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Veteran is presumed exposed to contaminated water during his service there.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, sinusitis, uterine fibroid tumors, and seizures due to lack of new and material evidence.

The petition to reopen the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The claims for prostate cancer, kidney disability, and seizure disorder are denied. A 30 percent rating is granted for headaches from March 16, 2009 to April 23, 2015.

The Veteran's complex partial seizures have been rated at 20 percent, which is the highest rating available under VA guidelines for this condition. The Board found that his seizures were predominantly minor and did not meet criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the claims for ischemic heart disease and residuals of hairy cell leukemia due to insufficient evidence regarding their current severity. The claim for service connection for seizures remains denied.

The Board denied service connection for both the claimed seizure disorder and acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as secondary to a seizure disorder) due to lack of evidence supporting these conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for a right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, seizure disorder, and depression due to incomplete records. The Veteran is advised to obtain new representation if desired.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type 2 and seizures, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a link to service. The Veteran's disabilities were deemed insufficient to meet the criteria for non-service connected pension due to his ability to work.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for seizures, finding that his seizures are non-epileptic in nature and not related to exposure to environmental hazards during his Southwest Asia theater service.

The Board has granted service connection for a seizure disorder as secondary to service-connected TBI. The appeal regarding the left knee disability is remanded.

The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, residuals of a cerebrovascular accident, and seizure disorder. The Veteran's current conditions were not shown to have their onset during active duty or within one year after separation from service.

The Board denied DIC benefits based on the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's lung cancer was not related to service and did not contribute to his death. The primary cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest with seizure disorder as a contributing factor.

The Board has decided to remand three issues: the evaluation of PTSD, service connection for seizures, and service connection for a lung condition. The Veteran needs further examinations and records to determine the current severity of his PTSD, whether he had a seizure disorder during service or is related to any incident of service, and if his lung condition had its clinical onset during active service.