Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board has granted a 10% evaluation for the veteran's service-connected IgA nephropathy, which is considered mildly symptomatic with occasional proteinuria and red blood cells in the urine.

The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing disorder is not well grounded, and thus denied.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of any residuals from the shrapnel wounds to the eyes, arms, hands, and chest. The claims are therefore denied.

The Board denied compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for additional neurological symptoms in the left upper extremity following VA surgery, finding no causal connection between the surgery and the development of these symptoms. The claim for an increased rating for residuals of a gunshot wound was also denied.

The VA denied the appellant's claims for secondary service connection for lymphoma and a gastric ulcer condition, both of which were related to her husband's service-connected right shoulder disorder.

The Board found that there is no competent evidence of a nexus between post-service complaints related to the left eye and findings of conjunctivitis and vitreous floaters noted during active service, thus denying the claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a personality trait disturbance and a psychosis, finding that they were not well-grounded.

The Board found that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the RO's application of the law to the facts, concluding that the veteran's muscle disorder had preexisted service and was not aggravated by any incident therein.

The Board has granted the appellant's claim for DIC benefits and assigned an effective date of May 1, 1993. The veteran died on April 23, 1993, and VA received notice of his death in April 1993. However, due to a failure to furnish an appropriate application form for DIC benefits to the appellant's custodian (who is also her mother), the effective date was assigned based on the receipt of the informal claim rather than one year prior.

The Board denied the veteran's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment in the amount of $27,988.00 due to her misrepresentation of income.

The Board finds that the veteran's current respiratory disability is related to his active military service and grants service connection for this condition. The claim for Guillain-Barre syndrome remains not well-grounded.

The veteran's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of improved pension benefits in the amount of $21,276 was denied by the RO's Committee on Waivers and Compromises.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection were not well grounded, and thus denied them. The claim for an increased rating was considered well-grounded.

The veteran's claim for residuals of a pilonidal cyst is granted. The skin disability claim, including as due to Agent Orange exposure, is not well-grounded.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of torn ligaments of the left lower leg is not well grounded and denied the claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected patellofemoral syndrome with chondromalacia patella of the right knee warrants a 10 percent disability rating, effective from February 20, 1997. The evidence does not support an increased evaluation at this time.

The Board has determined that the claim of service connection for organic brain syndrome is well grounded, while the claim of service connection for cataract of the left eye as secondary to service-connected keratitis is not well grounded. The appeal is denied.

The VA determined that the appellant did not file a timely request for waiver of an overpayment of improved death pension benefits within 180 days after notification, and thus denied her appeal.

The Board denied the appellant's request for earlier effective dates and a total compensation rating due to narcolepsy with cataplexy prior to May 15, 1989.

The Board denied the appellant's reinstatement of eligibility for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits as the surviving spouse of her first husband, the veteran. The decision was based on the fact that her marriage to her second husband had not been terminated by a legal proceeding prior to November 1, 1990, but rather ended due to his death in 1991.