Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected left knee disability does not warrant a combined evaluation in excess of 30 percent.

The Board has reopened the claim of whether the veteran's death was due to his willful misconduct, finding that new and material evidence has been submitted. The cause of death is attributed to the veteran's own misconduct.

The Board has found that the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral foot disability is well grounded and grants this claim.

The veteran developed an incisional hernia as a result of his cholecystectomy at the VA in February 1971. The Board found that this was an additional disability and granted benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a cardiac disorder, but finds that there is no evidence to support a finding of service connection.

The competent and probative evidence does not demonstrate more than subjective complaints of pain, motion limitation, and functional loss involving the left hip and lumbar spine. The veteran's disability picture does not meet or approximate the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection of residuals of laser exposure was not well grounded and denied it.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for skin disability, finding no evidence linking his current skin condition to service.

The veteran's overpayment of disability pension benefits was denied waiver due to fault in creation and lack of undue financial hardship.

The Board found that the veteran's income exceeded the maximum annual rate for improved pension benefits, leading to a denial of his claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for stomach and eye disabilities are not well-grounded. There is no competent medical evidence establishing a nexus between any current diagnoses of stomach or eye disabilities and service.

The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that nicotine dependence acquired during active service led to a lifelong tobacco habit which caused the veteran's carcinoma of the lungs and ultimately his liver cancer.

The Board found no current medical diagnosis of a service-connected eye disability manifested by floaters, and thus denied the veteran's claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for Hodgkin's lymphoma, finding that it was not due to disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for megaloblastic anemia as secondary to exposure to ionizing radiation, but denied it on the merits due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service.

The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for residuals of a left arm fracture is not well grounded, and thus cannot be granted.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a lung disorder, to include emphysema, secondary to exposure to toxins and asbestos, as well as his claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus. The reasons are provided in the decision.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's left lower extremity disorder, finding that it is a direct result of his military service.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's death to his service-connected disabilities or active military service, and denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for an increased rating for his service-connected post-operative residuals of left hemicolectomy with diverticulitis and a temporary total evaluation based on convalescence following surgery, as there was no evidence showing that he had prior service-connected disability necessitating surgery or immobilization by cast.