Other conditions decisions — 2001

The Board denied service connection for cancer of the throat as it did not have onset during or within one year after service, and there was no evidence linking the condition to in-service exposure to ionizing radiation. The veteran's claim was based on his belief that he developed the condition due to long-term exposure to radio frequency radiation from radar equipment.

The veteran's child is denied retroactive Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits as the claim was received after one year from when VA should have established entitlement.

The Board has determined that the veteran's L5-S1 spondylolisthesis, status post lumbar decompression, was aggravated by active service and is therefore granted service connection.

The Board has determined that there is no persuasive medical evidence of record relating the veteran's bladder and impotence disabilities to service per se, or a service-connected disability. The preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claims for service connection for bladder and impotence disorders.

The Board has determined that the appellant's remarriage was not due to her fault, and that recovery of the overpayment would cause undue hardship. Therefore, the Board granted waiver of the overpayment.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including degenerative joint disease of the thumbs and arthritis of the right hip, were not incurred or aggravated by service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for varicose veins of the right leg and chronic phlebitis of the left leg as these conditions were not present in service or linked to a service-connected disability.

The Board found that the reduction in the veteran's rating from 100% to 10% was proper and granted a combined rating of 40% based on residuals of Hodgkin's disease. The veteran is entitled to a 10% evaluation for peripheral neuropathy of his feet and a 30% evaluation for other residuals, resulting in a total combined rating of 40%.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 60 percent for herniated nucleus pulposus, finding that his disability does not meet the criteria for higher evaluation under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that a compensable evaluation for bursitis of the right and left hip is not warranted during certain periods, but has found entitlement to a 10 percent evaluation each for the veteran's hips from March 31, 1999 to September 13, 2000.

The veteran died of respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His service-connected depressive neurosis did not cause his death, and he was not rated as totally disabled for a period of ten years immediately preceding his death.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, finding that the proximate cause of his residuals of cataract surgery was not carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on VA's part in furnishing the medical treatment.

The veteran's death was caused by hypoxic encephalopathy due to an overdose of medication, which is not service-connected or related to a service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that the appellant's honorable discharge from his initial period of service does not bar VA benefits, but his bad conduct discharge during his second period of service does.

The VA denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA benefits due to a lack of valid military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's urethritis with associated prostatitis does not warrant a rating higher than the current 20 percent disability evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of pension benefits in the amount of $10,758 was timely filed and granted his appeal.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to carcinoma, finding that new and material evidence supports this claim.

The VA determined that the appellant's spouse did not have qualifying service for purposes of establishing entitlement to nonservice-connected death pension benefits and denied the claim.

The Board has determined that a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) was filed regarding the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The case is now remanded for further development and consideration.