Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board denied the waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Improved Disability Pension benefits, finding that the appellant's repeated failure to report his wife's income was intentional and resulted in bad faith.

The veteran's appeal is dismissed because they died during the pendency of the appeal.

The veteran's right eye disability, rated as uveitis and choroiditis, is currently evaluated at 30 percent. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating.

The veteran's overpayment of disability compensation was denied as recovery would be against equity and good conscience.

The veteran's disability compensation benefits are properly subject to recoupment due to the receipt of military severance pay, and her claim for waiver of recoupment is denied.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection were not well-grounded, and thus denied both his claim for right eye vision loss and his claim for left eye disability as secondary to a right eye disability.

The Board denied Vivian's claim for the proceeds of her deceased husband's National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) policy, finding that there was no evidence to support her contention that he intended to change the beneficiary designation from his former wife Mary.

The Board is remanding the case for further development, including verifying the veteran's exposure to toxins during his service in the South Pacific and obtaining a medical opinion on the relationship between his in-service lung conditions and his later pulmonary fibrosis.

The Board denied increased evaluations for the veteran's service-connected fractures of his right hand and foot, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating based on the current criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a disability of the lymph nodes, other than lymphadenopathy, including as due to exposure to Agent Orange, and for a lung disability and tracheomalacia. The decision found that the veteran was already service-connected for lymphadenopathy at the time of his July 1980 rating decision.

The Board found that the veteran's appeal was not timely filed, and thus denied his claim.

The veteran's service-connected dysthymia is currently rated at 50 percent, but the Board finds that this rating adequately reflects his disability and does not warrant an increased rating.

The Board found that the veteran's pre-existing condition of idiopathic anaphylaxis (IA) did not increase in severity during service and thus could not be granted service connection. The VA determined that the veteran's urticaria, which manifested as IA, was also a preexisting condition.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death due to lack of legal entitlement under applicable laws and regulations. The burial expenses paid by the appellant were not deductible from her income as they were paid after the veteran's death but before she received pension benefits.

The Board has determined that there is sufficient evidence to link the veteran's current low back disorder to his military service, making the claim well grounded. The case is remanded for further development and examination.

The Board has determined that the appellant is not entitled to service connection for missing teeth numbered 3, 4, 5 and 30 due to lack of evidence showing a compensable disability. However, he is granted service connection for carious teeth numbered 7, 12, 29 and 31 as they were noted to be carious upon entry into active duty. The Board also found that the appellant's tooth number 2 was lost due to an in-service trauma to the mandible.

The VA granted service connection for residuals of mandibular osteotomy and genioplasty with a non-compensable evaluation, effective from August 27, 1983. The veteran's claim was remanded multiple times due to the need for additional development. The RO later increased the disability rating to 10 percent effective March 16, 1995.

The veteran's claim for compensation for tardive dyskinesia, a condition resulting from VA medical treatment (medication), is granted.

The Board denied service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to military service or exposure to toxic herbicides.

The veteran's residuals of carcinoma of the larynx are rated at a 10 percent rating, effective from October 7, 1996.