CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2004-165
However, the doctor noted that because of the atrophy, an Initial Medical Board (IMB) should be convened even though the applicant was fit for duty. The Board noted that although his diagnoses were right optic nerve atrophy, right visual field defect, and asymmetrical disk cupping, a glaucoma specialist “is unsure of whether the patient suffers from early glaucoma versus idiopathic optic nerve atrophy.” The DMB determined that the applicant was not fit for world-wide duty and referred his...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2004-177
This final decision, dated May 5, 2005, is signed by the three duly appointed APPLICANT’S REQUEST The applicant asked the Board to correct her military record to show that she was discharged from the Coast Guard by reason of physical disability with a 100% disability rating due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rather than having been discharged by reason of unsuitability due to personality disorder. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Records On January 21, 1994, approximately...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-001
On December 19, 2002, the applicant’s podiatrist reported that the surgeries had been successful and that the applicant was “stable and fixed.” He stated that it was “difficult to tell if [the applicant’s foot problem was] a natural progression or if being on his feet for prolonged periods of time [as a cook for the Coast Guard] aggravated the pre-existing condition and allowed the bunions to get worse, causing pain and the necessity for surgery.” On February 6, 2003, a hand specialist...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-022
The applicant alleged that in addition to suffering from a disability to his right knee, he also suffered from a disability to his left knee, degenerative disc disease in his lower back and severe depression which were not rated by the Central Physical Evaluation Board (CPEB).1 He stated that eight months after his discharge from the Coast Guard he underwent his eighth knee surgery. He stated that the only evidence offered by the applicant to prove that the Coast Guard erred in evaluating...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-024
Because DM requiring glucose-lowering medications as well as dietary control is a disqualifying condition for retention on active duty under Article 3.F.10.e. He noted that the PDES Manual requires the Coast Guard to use the DVA’s VASRD schedule when assigning disability ratings. The Board begins each case presuming that the applicant’s military records are correct and that Coast Guard officials, including his doctors and medical evaluation boards, have acted correctly and in good faith in...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-025
Mr. P also alleged that if the applicant had been diagnosed with narcolepsy, then he would have been medically discharged from the Coast Guard. The applicant has submitted insufficient evidence to prove that at the time of his discharge from the Coast Guard he suffered from a physical disability (narcolepsy) that caused him to be unfit to perform his military duties, which is the basis for a separation or retirement by reason of physical disability. The fact that the applicant obtained a...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-048
On September 2, 2004, the Air Force denied the applicant's claim for Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC),1 because it determined that his hearing loss and tinnitus were not combat-related. Although the applicant served in Vietnam for approximately ten months, there is nothing in the Coast Guard military record, including his medical record, that connects the applicant's current hearing loss and tinnitus to combat in Vietnam. None of his Coast Guard medical examinations show that he...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-078
The medical board noted that the applicant had been offered two years of limited duty for follow-up of his cancer, but now desired a medical board. (2) of the PDES Manual states when the CPEB (or FPEB) reviews the case of a member on the TDRL findings are required for any impairment not previously rated. The evidence further shows that the applicant was placed on the TDRL on March 15, 1999 due to "malignant neoplasm of the genitourinary system" with a 30% disability rating and that no...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-093
CGPC stated that if the applicant was found to have a disabling condition, the Coast Guard would convene an IMB and, if the IMB determined that the applicant was not fit for duty on June 30, 2002, the Coast Guard would process the applicant in accordance with the PDES “for possible separation or retirement due to physical disability.” CGPC noted that if the IMB found that the applicant was fit for duty on June 30, 2002, but is no longer fit for duty, he would be processed for discharge from...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-108
This final decision, dated March 8, 2006, is signed by the three duly appointed APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct his record to show that he was placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) upon his release from active duty (RELAD) on March 3, 2005, and that he be awarded disability retirement pay from his date of release. of the Medical Manual states the following: Fitness for Duty. In the advisory opinion, the JAG and CGPC recommended...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-124
He stated that both the Coast Guard and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) use the same criteria in evaluating disabilities, but the DVA rated his PTSD as 30% disabling and his lumbar condition as 20% disabling for a combined disability rating of 50% for the two disabilities. The JAG noted that the DVA findings regarding the applicant’s disabilities have no bearing on the Coast Guard’s decision to separate the applicant upon rating his conditions as 20% disabling. However, the Board...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-125
The Coast Guard medical record contains no evidence that the applicant suffered from a mental disability prior to his discharge. In addition there is no evidence in the record that from the time of the applicant's discharge from the Coast Guard in 1981 until 2000 that he was treated for any problems with his wrist. The fact that the DVA granted the applicant a service-connected disability for a wrist injury some twenty years after his discharge from the Coast Guard is not persuasive...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2005-170
In March 1951, the applicant was admitted to a hospital and discharged with a diagnosis of petit mal epilepsy. CGPC stated that the application “may be denied due to its untimeliness.” Should the Board waive the statute of limitations, however, CGPC argued that the applicant’s request should be denied because his military medical record “supports that he did in fact suffer a form of convulsive disorder (epilepsy, petit mal seizure) at the time of his diagnosis and discharge from the Coast...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-006
of the Personnel Manual states that “[e]nlisted members involved in a second alcohol incident will normally be processed for separation in accordance with Article 12.B.16.” On October 25, 2004, the Director of ASAP reported the following con- cerning the applicant’s failure to complete rehabilitative treatment: On September 21, 2004, [the applicant] attended the first 6 hours of the 12-hour Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Treatment (ADAPT) equivalent to Alcohol and Drug Information School...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-007
He was discharged from the hospital on February 15, 1980, with a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and with a recommendation for an administrative discharge from the Coast Guard under Article 12-B-16 of the Personnel Manual. The Board finds that it might be in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations in this case because the applicant may have suffered from a physical disability subsequent to his discharge from the Coast Guard that interfered with his...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-031
This final decision, dated February 15, 2007, is signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct her military record to show that when she was retired from the Coast Guard by reason of physical disability on April 16, 1980, her pay grade was E-4, rather than E-3. He further pointed out that the rules state that an untimely application “shall be denied unless the Board finds that sufficient evidence has been presented to warrant a finding...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-071
This final decision, dated January 31, 2007, is signed by the three duly appointed APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct her military record to show that she was evaluated by a medical board, processed under the Coast Guard’s Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES), and separated because of a physical disability. Demonstrable signs and moderate symptoms of root or cord involvement. of the PDES Manual states that the “law that provides...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-092
He stated that he never saw the email in which Coast Guard personnel stated that the TDRL orders should be rescinded. There is no evidence in the record that he served on active duty for more than 30 days while in the Coast Guard; therefore to be entitled to retired pay his diabetic disability must be the proximate result of performing active duty or inactive duty training. § 1204 states in pertinent part that upon a determination by the Secretary concerned that a member of the armed...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-112
The record indicates that the CPEB’s findings and recom- mendations were reasonable and appropriate.” CGPC stated that the applicant has based his claim on a single clinical finding, whereas the FPEB “determined the percent- age of disability awarded based upon the overall evidence of record (i.e., MRI findings, neurosurgical consults, physical therapist findings, and expert testimony during the FPEB).” CGPC pointed out that the applicant received and exercised his full due process rights...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2006-135
The DVA stated the following: The injury occurred on August 27, 1970 in which you were diagnosed with Meniere’s syndrome by the military doctor after the physician performed an examination in service. This application was submitted approximately thirty-two years after the applicant’s FPEB proceedings and discharge from the Coast Guard. A medical diagnosis by the DVA some thirty years after the applicant’s discharge from the Coast Guard does not establish that at the time of his...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-013
This final decision, dated June 13, 2007, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct his military record to show that he was placed on the temporary disability retired list (TDRL)1 in pay grade E-4, the highest grade he held in the military, rather than in pay grade E-3, the highest grade he held in the Coast Guard. This provision states in relevant part: Unless entitled to a higher grade under some other provision...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-025
The JAG stated that the applicant’s command should have either requested a waiver for him or followed the procedures for discharge under Chapter 8.D.7. First, the Board could order the Coast Guard to convene a medical board to determine whether the applicant was fit or unfit for duty. If the applicant were found unfit for duty and if his disability were determined to be “service related,”2 the JAG stated, the applicant “would be entitled to severance or disability retirement” under Chapter...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-090
of the Medical Manual states that schizoaffective disorder is disqualifying for military service and that members with this condition should be evaluated by a medical board and processed for separation under the PDES. 2. rectly and in good faith in assigning his disability rating.3 The applicant bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that his disability rating was wrong.4 Although the applicant accepted the PEB’s recommendation that he be discharged with a 50%...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-091
He further alleged that he was discharged from the Coast Guard with a mental disability and should have had a medical discharge. On March 22, 1989, the applicant, with the assistance of counsel, rebutted the findings and recommendation of the CPEB and requested reconsideration of its decision and a hearing before the Formal Physical Evaluation Board (FPEB).5 The applicant stated that he wanted to make the CPEB record complete and wrote that the initial medical board was conducted on June On...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-107
The IMB recommended that the applicant’s case be referred to the Central Physical Evaluation Board.2 On August 15, 2003, the applicant’s OIC concurred that the applicant should be discharged from the Coast Guard. The applicant failed to report on his enlistment medical form that he had been diagnosed and treated for a Bipolar Disorder at age 17 for which he was hospitalized for three days. The Board notes that the applicant does not deny that he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder at age...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-132
This final decision, dated February 21, 2008, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct her military record to show that she was evalu- ated by a medical board, processed under the Coast Guard’s Physical Disability Evaluation Sys- tem (PDES), and separated because of a physical disability on February 3, 2007. However, pain in her left wrist prevented her from performing the training. provides that when a member has...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2007-176
The Page 7 notes that because it was his second alcohol abuse incident, he was being processed for separation pursuant to Article 20-B-2.d. On April 3, 1989, the CO submitted a recommendation, which was required by Article 20-B-2 of the Personnel Manual, that the applicant be discharged because of his two alcohol abuse incidents. The CO requested that the applicant be retained on active duty despite Coast Guard policy as follows: 3.
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2008-020
§ 1201 provides that a member who is found to be “unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, grade, rank, or rating because of physical disability incurred while entitled to basic pay” may be retired if the disability is (1) permanent and stable, (2) not a result of misconduct, and (3) for members with less than 20 years of service, “at least 30 percent under the standard schedule of rating disabilities in use by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of the determination.”...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2008-083
proper processing and performance of a physical examination and evaluations for a medical separation or retirement.” 1 The PRRB ordered the applicant’s record corrected to show that the period from October 1, 2003 through June 13, 2006 as active duty. CGPC noted that the physical examination determined that the applicant was fit for release from active duty. Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES) Manual Article 2.A.15.
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2008-131
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS Application for the Correction of the Coast Guard Record of: BCMR Docket No. This final decision, dated February 12, 2009, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST The applicant asked the Board to correct his record by directing the Coast Guard to pay him severance pay due to his separation by reason of physical disability due to schizophrenia on November 26, 1980. The BCMR has jurisdiction of the...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2009-197
This final decision, dated March 26, 2010, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, who was honorably discharged for unacceptable conduct on October 10, 2000, asked the Board to correct her record to reflect a medical separation for bipolar disorder.1 The applicant stated that she was diagnosed as bipolar after she was discharged from the Coast Guard, but she believes that she had the condition prior to her discharge and was misdiagnosed by...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-001
APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, a health services technician who was released from active duty into the Reserve on July 24, 2008, asked the Board to correct her record to reinstate her on active duty and to order the Coast Guard to process her under the Coast Guard’s Physical Disability Evalua- tion System (PDES) prior to her release from active duty (RELAD). A cursory review reveals that her medical records reflect the symptoms and diagnoses claimed in the application...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-101
PSC further stated the following: PSC recommended that the Board deny relief and stated the applicant was entitled to and The member signed documentation with the understanding that he would be separated from service with a 10% severance pay. § 1201 provides that a member who is found to be “unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, grade, rank, or rating because of physical disability incurred while entitled to basic pay” may be retired if the disability is (1) permanent and...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-113
This final decision, dated October 21, 2010, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct his record to show that he received a physical disability retirement on September 9, 1953, instead of a disability discharge with severance pay. (2) Disability retirees with less than 20 years of service. § 1201, the military services award disability ratings based upon the member’s degree of unfitness for duty upon the date of...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-126
The applicant also acknowledged that the medical board’s opinions and recommendations were not binding on the Coast Guard and that his case was subject to further review and final disposition by higher authority. The [IPEB] recommends that he should be permanently retired at a disability rating of 30%. The applicant requested a correction of his record to show that he was retired due to physical disability with a 100% disability rating instead of the 30% rating he actually received.
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-139
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS Application for the Correction of the Coast Guard Record of: BCMR Docket No. This final decision, dated January 13, 2011, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, who was medically retired with a 40% disability rating from the Coast Guard on October 14, 2000, after completing 19 years and 4 months of active duty, asked the Board to correct her record to show that she...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-205
of the PDES Manual, “[i]f a member is being processed for separation or retirement for reasons other than physical disability adequately performed the duties of his or her office, grade, rank or rating, the member is deemed fit for duty even though medical evidence indicates he has impairments.” The PSC stated that the applicant was being separated from active duty in November 2004 because his active duty orders ended, not because of his diagnosed Crohn’s disease. of the Medical Manual...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2010-224
The IMB reported on June 12, 1996, that the applicant had been “placed on the weight program and given intermittent Progesterone ther- apy for amenorrhea secondary to Polycystic Ovary Disease.” The IMB stated that she was fit for full duty despite her obesity and polycystic ovarian disease and that the “prognosis for this patient will depend on the vigor with which she pursues weight control because Polycystic Ovary Disease is associated with and thought to cause over weight.” The IMB stated...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2011-027
ALLEGATIONS The applicant, who was represented by a civilian attorney, wrote that the Formal Physical Disability Evaluation Board (FPEB)1 recommended that the applicant be permanently retired from the Coast Guard with a 30% disability rating for major depressive disorder under the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) 2 code 9434 and a 0% rating for 1 The FPEB is a fact finding body (in the Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES)) that holds an administrative hearing...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2011-068
This final decision, dated September 29, 2011, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, former lieutenant (LT) who was honorably discharged from the Reserve on June 30, 1994, asked the Board to correct his military record to show that he has service- connected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and is entitled to processing under the Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES) and to disability retired...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2011-143
He stated that she should be awarded a 70% combined disability rating based on the following ratings: 50% for pain disorder (9422) – The attorney argued that the DMB ignored the fact that the applicant had been diagnosed with both moderate Major Depressive Disorder and severe Pain Disorder and that the Pain Disorder should therefore be “the primary unfit- ting diagnosis for psychiatric purposes, given the degree of severity of this condition vice the Major Depressive Disorder.” He also...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2011-208
The medical board recommended that the applicant be retained on active duty in a limited duty status to complete 20 years of service. The CPEB recommended that the applicant be permanently retired from the Coast Guard due to physical disability. The JAG noted that the applicant’s first medical board recommended his retention on active duty in a limited duty status until he earned 20 years of service, which is consistent with Coast Guard policy to retain personnel who have at least 18 but...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2011-262
of the Personnel Manual states that after three years and with no further alcohol incidents, a member who receives an alcohol incident solely for underage drinking and did not use or abuse alcohol to such an extent that he or she was unable to perform prescribed duties or brought discredit upon the Uniformed Service may, predicated on positive performance, request via the chain of command that PSC remove the alcohol incident from his or her record. The Board agrees with the Coast Guard that...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-021
PSC stated that the applicant was properly discharged for “Personality Disorder” after he was diagnosed with one in March 1996. Chapter 5.B.2 of the Medical Manual lists the personality disorders that qualify a member for administrative discharge pursuant to Article 12.b.16. The Board’s cursory review of the merits of this case shows that although the applicant alleged that he should have received a medical disability separation from the Coast Guard due to a right knee injury, he was not...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-057
The PDBR increased the applicant’s Coast Guard’s rating for his bilateral knee disability from 10% to 20%. Although the DVA granted the applicant disability ratings for certain other conditions that were not diagnosed by the Medical Board and CPEB, this Board has consistently held that a disability rating from the DVA for a condition not rated by the Coast Guard does not, in and of itself, establish that the Coast Guard committed an error or injustice by not rating any of the other...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-068
The applicant alleged that the rules for measuring range of motion under the Veterans’ Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD), which the Coast Guard must follow, do not include hip flexion in the measurement of forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine. Therefore, the applicant concluded, the FPEB had made “a mistake of law in that it expressly stated that it is permissible to include hip flexion when assessing the range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine.” The applicant argued...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-070
This final decision, dated September 27, 2012, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant, who was placed on the Temporary Disabled Retired List (TDRL) on August 19, 1996, and thereafter found fit for duty and discharged, asked the Board to order the Coast Guard to re-process him through the Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES) by convening a medical board to evaluate him and then award him a disability retirement. The applicant stated...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-113
The applicant alleged that he was diagnosed with epilepsy in December 2009, and that it was this diagnosis that caused his discharge. With full knowledge of the findings of the medical board convened in my case and of my rights in this matter, I hereby certify I do not demand a hearing before a physical evaluation board and request I be separated from the United States Coast Guard as soon as possible. Moreover, the applicant was not allowed to work near the water; the closest unit to his...
CG | BCMR | Disability Cases | 2012-114
This final decision, dated February 1, 2013, is approved and signed by the three duly APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS The applicant asked the Board to correct his record by raising his comparison scale mark from the third block to the fifth block on the rating scale in section 91 on his officer evaluation report (OER) for the period July 1, 2009 to May 11, 2010 (disputed OER). The applicant received the disputed OER while serving as the Support Department Head (SUPPO) on a Coast Guard...