Other conditions decisions — 2001

The veteran's VA disability compensation includes a dependency allowance for the appellant. The veteran is not reasonably discharging his responsibility for supporting the appellant, and an apportionment of the veteran's benefits in the amount paid to him as dependency allowance on behalf of the appellant is granted.

The Board found that the veteran does not have an undiagnosed illness manifested by shortness of breath and that his obstructive and restrictive pulmonary disease is not related to his service. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for varicose veins, finding that no new and material evidence was submitted.

The Board found that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left hip is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected through and through gunshot wound distal third left lower extremity with recurrent exostosis and distal neuropathy, and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the overpayment of $2747.10 was properly created due to the veteran's failure to promptly notify VA of his divorce and remarriage, resulting in an improper creation of the debt.

The Board has remanded the case due to new regulations and the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that her April 12, 1999 claim was the first indication of entitlement to these benefits. The effective date assigned is therefore April 12, 1999.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for a right hydrocele and atrophy of the testis in December 1992, finding that the condition was not incurred during service. The RO has determined that new and material evidence has not been presented to reopen the claim.

The RO denied the veteran's claims for higher ratings for dysthymia and TDIU. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for dysthymia remain on appeal.

The veteran's application for Service Disabled Veterans' (RH) Insurance was denied because it was not received within one year of the last grant of service connection, and he was considered competent throughout his eligibility period.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a gunshot wound to the right thigh and buttock result in moderately severe injury to the right buttock (Muscle Group XVII), and moderate injury to the right thigh (Muscle Group XIV). A 50 percent evaluation is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for a TDIU and a 70 percent rating for PTSD, finding that January 1, 1998 was the earliest date on which it was factually ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred.

The Board has determined that the appellant's atrial fibrillation is well controlled by medication and does not result in more than infrequent attacks or more than four documented episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation per year. Therefore, a higher rating for his service-connected atrial fibrillation is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim, finding that his left eye disability is unrelated to VA cataract surgery in October 1991 or YAG laser bursts in March 1992.

The appellant's application for VA improved death pension benefits on behalf of the surviving child was denied because the child's annual income exceeded the maximum allowable amount.

The Board found that the veteran's skin disorder, diagnosed as sebaceous cysts, was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure. The lung condition was not shown to meet criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected deep venous thrombosis of the left lower extremity secondary to protein C deficiency is currently manifested by persistent swelling upon standing or walking, but without evidence of moderate discoloration, pigmentation, or cyanosis. The disability is rated at 20 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right hand disability and a right leg disability, finding that new evidence did not meet the criteria to reopen his previously denied claim of PTSD. The decision also noted that there was no mention of a bayonet wound or any complaints related to the right leg during service.

The Board found that the appellant's deceased husband did not have active service in the United States Armed Forces, and thus denied her claim for VA benefits.

The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not incurred as a result of service or a service-connected disability, including his shrapnel wounds.