Other conditions decisions — 2000

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected fracture residuals, right (major) ring and fifth fingers is being remanded due to the need for additional development of the record.

The Board found that the appellant was at fault in creating the loan guaranty indebtedness and denied his request for a waiver of the debt, as he did not show hardship in repayment.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected residuals of a shrapnel wound to the right forearm, with open fractures of the ulna and muscle damage to Muscle Group VIII, are productive of severe impairment warranting an increased rating to 30 percent.

The VA determined that the veteran is no longer unemployable due to his service-connected bilateral eye condition, as he has been employed and earning income for several years.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for recurrent costochondritis of the left chest wall with myofascial pain syndrome was denied. The timeliness of her substantive appeal regarding an earlier effective date for a compensable evaluation was also addressed and found to be untimely.

The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure in Vietnam, is not well grounded. The veteran did not serve in the Republic of Vietnam and there is no competent medical evidence linking his current diagnosis to service or to herbicide exposure.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that there is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current respiratory disorder, claimed as pneumonia, to an incident of service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment in the amount of $2,704 due to fault on his part and lack of undue financial hardship.

The Board found that the claim was not well-grounded because there was no evidence of a current disability and no link between the veteran's asbestos exposure during service and his claimed lung disorder.

The Board has determined that there are currently no residuals of rheumatic fever, including a heart disorder, demonstrated by the medical evidence of record. As such, the veteran's claim for an increased (compensable) rating for the service-connected residuals of rheumatic fever is denied.

PTSD was rated at 30 percent prior to December 8, 1998.,Effective December 8, 1998, the rating for PTSD increased to 50 percent.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of a head injury, including organic brain syndrome and back injuries due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or any presumptive exposure. The claim for back injury was also denied as not well grounded.

The Board found that the claim for disability benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 was not well-grounded, as there is no competent medical evidence to support a finding that the left lower extremity amputations in 1986 were actually the result of disease or injury related to VA care.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection due to new and material evidence, but finds that the claim is not well-grounded as there is no competent medical evidence linking a current right hand disability to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for morphea, which he claimed as soft tissue sarcoma due to Agent Orange exposure. The appeal is based on a presumption of service connection.

The Board determined that the correct action was taken in terminating the appellant's DIC benefits and that there was no clear and unmistakable error made in determining the effective date for the termination of the appellant's DIC benefits.

The Board has determined that an effective date prior to January 24, 1992 for DIC benefits is not warranted as the appellant's request to reopen her previously denied claim was received on January 24, 1992.

The veteran's peripheral neuritis was granted an initial compensable rating of 10 percent effective April 28, 1992. The effective date for service connection of the disability is set at that time.

The Board found that the veteran did not serve in a period of war and therefore is not eligible for nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Board denied the veteran's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of improved disability pension benefits due to a willful misrepresentation of income, resulting in the creation of the overpayment.