Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death should be reopened due to new and material evidence, but it remains unclear whether the veteran's smoking in service contributed to his death.

The veteran's service is recognized, but he served as a guerrilla and in the Regular Philippine Army. The Board finds that this does not qualify him for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.

The Board found that the appellant's Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease was not incurred in or aggravated during his period of active duty for training, and thus denied service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's peripheral pigmented retinal spots in the peripheral retina of the right eye are at least as likely as not related to his injury during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death, cancer of the pharynx and esophagus, was not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing a connection between his exposure to herbicides in Vietnam and his fatal cancer.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his stressor claims and a psychiatric examination.

The Board found that the veteran's preexisting degenerative joint disease of the right hip did not increase in severity during service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected right third and fifth finger disorders have been rated at 30 percent since December 9, 1994. The Board finds that the evidence does not support an evaluation in excess of this rating.

The Board has granted a higher disability rating of 50% for the veteran's service-connected bilateral claw foot, taking into account the veteran's recent assertions that his condition has worsened over time.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for a ventral hernia and its residuals (stomach injury) is not well-grounded, as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's appeal is dismissed because the veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, and veterans' claims do not survive their deaths.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's broken teeth to VA treatment or examination, and thus denied his claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection were not well-grounded and denied them.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim of entitlement to an effective date prior to March 1, 1995 for DIC benefits based on his status as a helpless child is well grounded. The RO will now determine if VA should have considered the appellant's initial application for Social Security disability benefits filed in either 1976 or 1977 and if so, whether it was of a form jointly prescribed by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death and also denied entitlement to Dependent's Educational Assistance. The appellant failed to present evidence that her husband's death was caused by a condition related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for lower jaw cramp/pain, head injury with memory loss, and chest pain. These conditions are considered direct service connections based on evidence of in-service incurrence.

The Board denied the veteran's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA improved pension benefits in the amount of $5,770. The issue is not about service connection.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis and determined that it was incurred in service. Liver disease is also proximately due to or the result of service-connected ulcerative colitis.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection of Osgood-Schlatter disease, concluding that his allegation was not supported by medical evidence.

The veteran's request for a waiver of an overpayment of pension benefits was denied due to it being untimely, as he submitted his request 7 years after notification.