Other conditions decisions — 2001

The Board has granted the waiver of recovery for an overpayment in the calculated amount of $7,110 due to the appellant's receipt of Social Security benefits. The appeal regarding the overpayment in the calculated amount of $1,498 is remanded for further action.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits due to the veteran's death, finding that the claim was not timely filed and no clear and unmistakable error in previous decisions existed.

The Board denied service connection for prostate cancer, finding no evidence to support a relationship between the veteran's service-connected prostatitis and his current condition.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's residuals of a right mandible fracture and assigned a 10% rating. Service connection was also granted for his GI disorder, but the issue involving his claimed undiagnosed illness is remanded due to incomplete medical records.

The veteran's claims for waiver of overpayments of improved pension benefits in the amounts of $9,804 and $762 were denied because they were not timely filed. The Board found that recovery would create undue financial hardship.

The veteran is seeking service connection for primary amyloidosis, which he claims is related to his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. The VA has requested a more specific medical opinion regarding the relationship between Agent Orange and primary amyloidosis.

The Board denied service connection for a left orchiectomy due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service. The RO held that new and material evidence had not been submitted, and thus the claim was denied.

The Board denied service connection for jungle rot, ringworm, athlete's foot, an ear fungus, and an eye disorder due to a lack of evidence supporting these conditions during the veteran's active service.

The VA medical center denied the appellant's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Johnston-Willis Hospital from October 21 to November 13, 1997.

The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of any right hip disorder, as well as whether it is related to service-connected conditions or other factors. The veteran's claim will be remanded for further development.

The Board has restored service connection for dysthymic disorder and temporomandibular joint dysfunction, finding that the original decision was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous.

The VA denied the appellant's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected lichen nitidus, currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's asbestos exposure during service was a contributory cause of his lung cancer, which ultimately caused his death. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of pes cavus and granted a 20 percent evaluation for duodenal spasm, finding that the evidence is sufficient to support these determinations.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for disability of the fifth digit of the right foot as being proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right ankle disability.

The veteran's claim for extension of additional non-service-connected VA pension benefits beyond his daughter's 23rd birthday is without legal merit.

The veteran's claims for service connection for cancer of the lung and brain are denied. The claim is denied as secondary to in-service tobacco use and nicotine addiction, and also because the cancer was not present during or within one year after service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for dental trauma, finding that he did not meet the criteria for eligibility under any VA classification.

The Board denied the veteran's claim as new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen a claim of eligibility for nonservice-connected disability pension benefits based on character of discharge.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA DIC benefits due to a lack of evidence of service in the United States Armed Forces.