Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board denied the appellant's request for an increased apportionment of the veteran's VA compensation benefits, finding that a $189.00 per month apportionment was appropriate given the financial hardship on both the appellant and the veteran.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for hydrocephalus with memory loss and finds that it is likely due to head trauma sustained during military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his residuals of subtotal gastrectomy, currently evaluated as 40 percent disabling.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for aortic stenosis (claimed as heart disease) and granted it, finding new and material evidence to support the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than March 12, 1998 for a 70% evaluation of his service-connected low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected residuals of right pneumothoraces are currently productive of mild respiratory impairment, warranting a 10% disability rating.

The Board has granted a waiver of recovery for the overpayment of disability pension benefits, finding that repayment would cause undue financial hardship.

The Board has determined that the appellant is the sole beneficiary of the veteran's National Service Life Insurance policy, and thus entitled to all proceeds.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service connected nerve entrapment syndrome and neuroma formation of the 10th intercostal nerve, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hospitalization and convalescence were not due to his service-connected hammertoes, but rather to a non-service connected condition (diabetes). As such, benefits under 38 C.F.R. § 4.29 and § 4.30 are denied.

The veteran's son has been diagnosed with Chiari Type I malformation with holocord syringomyelia, which the Board found is not a form of spina bifida. Therefore, the claim for monetary allowance under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1805 for disability resulting from spina bifida is denied.

The Board denied the appellant's claim to be recognized as the veteran's surviving spouse for VA benefits, finding that she was not married to the veteran at the time of his death and did not meet the requirements for a deemed valid marriage.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected retinal detachment of the right eye, currently rated at 30 percent. The evidence showed that the veteran had only light perception in his right eye and 20/30 vision in his left eye.

The veteran's service-connected status post bunionectomy of the right and left little toes are currently evaluated at 10 percent. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher evaluation for these conditions.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death, aspiration pneumonia and cerebrovascular accident, was not caused by or a result of his service-connected disabilities. Therefore, the claim for service connection for the cause of death is denied. The eligibility for Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code is also denied as there is no evidence showing that the veteran had a permanent total service-connected disability at the date of his death.

The veteran's postoperative complications following a palmar fasciotomy for Dupuytren's contracture are not shown to be proximately due to or the result of surgical or medical negligence, and thus compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied.

The Board is considering the veteran's claims for service connection for deteriorating vision and left knee chondromalacia. The decision on the former issue remains pending, while the latter has been granted with a 10% evaluation effective October 1, 1992.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for a chronic skin disorder (jungle rot) and malaria. However, the evidence does not establish service connection due to lack of direct or presumptive service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of competent evidence showing current disabilities related to his active service.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected post-traumatic encephalopathy does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent under applicable codes, and thus denied an increased rating.