Citation Nr: 25001084
Decision Date: 01/28/25	Archive Date: 01/28/25

DOCKET NO. 19-29 331
DATE: January 28, 2025

REMANDED

The issue of entitlement to additional compensation for dependent spouse, D.N., for VA purposes is remanded.

(The issue of entitlement to service connection for chronic kidney disease, claimed as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is the subject of a separate decision.)

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1958 to January 1961. 

This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) arose from an April 2018 administrative decision in which a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied the Veteran's claim for additional dependency compensation for spouse D.N. 

The Board denied the claim in an August 2023 decision. As noted in the concurrent Board decision issued in a separate decision, the Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic kidney disease pursuant to the October 2024 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) vacated and remanded the Board's July 2023 denial of service connection for chronic kidney disease and the August 2023 denial of entitlement to additional compensation for his spouse as it is intertwined with the service connection issue.

This benefit is available to any veteran in possession of at least a 30 percent combined disability rating. 38 U.S.C. §1115. The Veteran is currently not service connected for any disability. As previously explained by the Board and the Court, the issue of entitlement to additional dependency compensation is inextricably intertwined with the service connection issue. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). Therefore, pursuant to the JMR, given that the service connection issue is being remanded, the dependency compensation issue must also be remanded. 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

After the RO has issued a decision regarding service connection for chronic kidney disease, readjudicate the issue of entitlement to additional dependency compensation for spouse D.N. If the claim remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case.

 

 

A. P. SIMPSON

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Sarah Campbell, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.