Citation Nr: 21076148 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 18-15 602 DATE: December 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service-connected burial benefits greater than $2000 is denied. Entitlement to a plot or interment allowance is denied. Entitlement to a burial transportation allowance is denied. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss for substitution purposes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral loss of sight for substitution purposes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a colon disorder for substitution purposes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension for substitution purposes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a cognitive disorder, including loss of memory and loss of fun, for substitution purposes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a thyroid disorder for substitution purposes is remanded. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In July 2018, the appellant was granted a total payment of $2000 as a burial allowance based on a service-connected death. This is the maximum amount payable under the granted benefit. 2. The Veteran's cremated remains have not been placed in a final resting site. 3. The Veteran was not buried in a national cemetery. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria are not met for entitlement to service-connected burial benefits greater than $2000. 38 U.S.C. § 2307; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1704. 2. The criteria are not met for entitlement to a burial plot or interment allowance. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 2303; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707. 3. The criteria are not met for payment of a burial transportation allowance. 38 U.S.C. §§ 2302, 2303; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1709. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from May 1985 to November 1991. He died in August 2016. The appellant is his surviving spouse, who has been substituted as claimant for claims pending at the time of the Veteran's death. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; Notice letter to appellant, December 2019 (granting substitution request). The Board is uncertain as to the correct spelling of the appellant's name. It appears as "Maria" in official documents including the Veteran's March 2016 claim filed during his lifetime, the Veteran's Certificate of Death, and the appellant's August 2017 application for burial benefits. Her name appears as "Marie" on the August 2017 application for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits, the January 2018 notice of disagreement, and the March 2018 VA Form 9. As such, the Board has listed both names in the caption above, as it is unclear which is accurate. The appellant is requested to notify VA of the proper spelling of her name if she so wishes, as it is important to our offices to properly address those whom we serve. We regret any inconvenience and intend no disrespect by any misspelling that has occurred. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions issued in August 2016 and November 2017. Of note, for VA benefit purposes, the term "burial" means all the legal methods of disposing of the remains of a deceased person, including, but not limited to, cremation, burial at sea, and medical school donation. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1700(b). For this reason, the terms burial and cremation may be used interchangeably in this decision. 1. Entitlement to service-connected burial benefits greater than $2000 is denied. In a July 2018 administrative decision, the appellant was awarded $2000, the maximum amount available for a burial allowance based on a service-connected death. The Board acknowledges that the appellant incurred additional cost and has submitted a receipt showing additional expenses related to the funeral services provided for this Veteran. Application for burial benefits, August 2017; Invoice from funeral home, August 2016. However, the allowance for the burial and funeral expenses of a veteran who died as a result of a service-connected disability or disabilities is established by law at a maximum of $2000. 38 U.S.C. § 2307; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1704(a). The Board has no discretion to award benefits greater than the maximum established by law. See 38 U.S.C. § 7104(c); 38 C.F.R. § 20.101(a). As, on these facts, there is no legal basis to award service-connected burial benefits greater than the $2000 previously awarded, the appellant's claim must be denied as a matter of law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). 2. Entitlement to a plot or interment allowance is denied. The term "plot" or "burial plot" means the final disposition site of a veteran's remains, whether it is a grave, mausoleum vault, columbarium niche, or other similar place. Plot or interment expenses are those expenses associated with the final disposition of the remains and are not confined to the acts done within the burial grounds but may include the removal of remains for burial or interment. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707(d). Here, the Veteran died in August 2016 and his bodily remains were cremated and placed in an urn. See Funeral home invoice, August 2016. The appellant has not identified any final resting place for the Veteran's remains, such as at a cemetery. See, e.g., Application for burial benefits; Certificate of death, August 2016 (listing crematory as place of disposition). As there has been no final resting site purchased for interment of the Veteran's remains, there is no legal basis to award a burial plot allowance and the appellant's claim for additional compensation on this basis must be denied. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1707(d). 3. Entitlement to a burial transportation allowance is denied. To receive a transportation allowance under 38 C.F.R. § 3.1709, reimbursement is only available for the costs of transportation for a veteran buried in a national cemetery. As described above, in this case the Veteran's remains were cremated, and no final resting place has been identified by the appellant. Because the Veteran was not buried in a national cemetery, reimbursement for transportation expenses is not available, and the appeal must be denied. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1709. REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss for substitution purposes is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral loss of sight for substitution purposes is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for colon condition for substitution purposes is remanded. 4. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension for substitution purposes is remanded. 5. Entitlement to service connection for a cognitive disorder, including loss of memory and loss of fun, for substitution purposes is remanded. 6. Entitlement to service connection for a thyroid disorder for substitution purposes is remanded. In submitting medical evidence in support of her successful claim seeking service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, the appellant identified outstanding private treatment records relevant to the present claims. A remand is required to allow VA to obtain authorization and request these records. Additionally, the Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on these issues of service connection because no VA examiner has opined whether any claimed disability was caused or aggravated by the Veteran's bladder cancer metastatic to bone with contributing acute renal failure found to be related to his toxin exposure during active military service. A medical opinion is necessary. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page) 1. Ask the appellant to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any physician or facility treating the Veteran's claimed hearing loss, vision loss, hypertension, and cognitive, colon, or thyroid problems. Make two requests for the authorized records unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. AFTER completion of the development requested above, obtain a medical opinion regarding whether a hearing loss, vision loss, hypertension, cognitive, colon, or thyroid disability (which is shown to have been present at any time during the period from March 2016 - August 2016) was at least as likely as not (1) proximately due to or aggravated beyond its natural progression by the Veteran's bladder cancer metastatic to bone with contributing acute renal failure, or (2) was otherwise attributable to the acknowledged exposure to solvents, trichloroethylene (TCE), aircraft fuels and/or paints that occurred during the Veteran's active military service. David Gratz Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. McDonald, Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.