Other conditions decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current acquired psychiatric disability manifested by stress related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the claim as not well grounded, meaning there is insufficient evidence to support the claim.

The Board has dismissed the case as it lacks jurisdiction to review the issue of attorney fees in a direct-payment case.

The Board finds that the veteran's recurrent bladder infections and prostatitis with prostatic calculi and resection are secondary to his service-connected hydronephrosis, and grants these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of frostbite of the hands and feet, but denied service connection for skin boils over the lower portion of the body and fungus of the left foot. The veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for residuals of a GSW of the left great toe is referred to as 'REMAND'.

The Board found that the veteran's claim was not well-grounded because there was no medical evidence linking his splenectomy to VA Coumadin treatment, and thus compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied.

The veteran's service-connected conditions have been evaluated based on the criteria set forth in the rating schedule. The RO has denied his claims for higher initial disability evaluations.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased evaluation for interstitial lung disease and service connection for nicotine dependence. The March 1979 rating decision denying residuals of smoke inhalation was not found to be clearly and unmistakably erroneous.

The Board has granted a 60 percent rating for the veteran's Crohn's disease, finding that it meets the criteria for this higher rating based on its severity and frequency of exacerbations.

The Board has granted an increased disability rating of 50 percent for the appellant's service-connected psychiatric disorder, including schizoaffective disorder and depressive reaction. The current evaluation for lumbosacral strain remains at 20 percent.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) determined that the appellee, the veteran's second wife, is entitled to the proceeds from the veteran's NSLI policy. The appellant, who claimed she was the rightful beneficiary, presented evidence suggesting the veteran had changed his beneficiary without her knowledge or consent, but the Board found insufficient evidence to support this claim and upheld the decision of the RO&IC.

The Board denied the veteran's request for an effective date earlier than January 28, 1994, for the grant of a 80 percent disability evaluation for narcolepsy.

The VA denied an evaluation in excess of 50 percent for the veteran's service-connected Raynaud's syndrome, finding that the condition did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased disability evaluations for his service-connected post-operative left (non-dominant) acromioclavicular separation and residuals of a left thumb injury, finding that the evidence did not support ratings in excess of 10 percent.

The veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected lipoma was granted, but the effective date remains unclear.

The veteran's claim for extended educational benefits beyond April 1, 1999 was denied as she did not meet the criteria for an extension due to lack of physical or mental disability preventing her from initiating or completing her education.

The Board has determined that it does not have jurisdiction to decide the matter of eligibility for attorney fees from past-due benefits, as addressed by the Court in Scates v. Gober.

The Board has dismissed the case as it lacks jurisdiction to review the issue of eligibility for attorney fees from past-due benefits due to a direct-payment contingency fee agreement.

The Board has determined that the veteran's residuals of a wound to his left arm are productive of no more than slight disability and thus does not warrant an evaluation in excess of the current noncompensable rating.

The Board has granted a 50 percent evaluation for the veteran's service-connected panic and dysthymic disorder, which is currently rated as 50 percent disabling.