Other conditions decisions — 2002

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not due to a service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.

The veteran's service-connected left elbow condition, resulting from a fracture of the radial head in 1989, is currently rated at 10 percent. The condition includes limitation of motion and degenerative joint disease (arthritis).

The Board found that the veteran does not have residuals of a head injury linked to service on any basis and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current ear disorders to his military service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The VA determined that the appellant's income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate, leading to the termination of her improved death pension award effective April 1, 1998.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his right ankle disability, which includes traumatic arthritis secondary to a service-connected fracture of the calcaneus bone, was denied by the Board in April 1997. The current effective date is not specified.

The Board has granted a 60 percent evaluation for the veteran's postoperative residuals of a penetrating wound to the pleural cavity with cardiac involvement, effective April 14, 1999. The evidence did not support a higher rating.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted with an effective date of March 19, 1996.

The Board found no evidence that the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to or caused his death from congestive heart failure and arteriosclerosis. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a current disability manifested by a lump in his groin area, and thus denied service connection for this condition. The noncompensable ratings assigned for otitis externa were upheld.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for a skin disability, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.

The veteran's appeal was denied as his request for an earlier effective date for pension benefits was not granted. The RO had previously granted the benefit on September 30, 1999.

The Board found that the appellant's period of service was under dishonorable conditions due to his AWOL and nonjudicial punishment, which constitutes a bar to VA benefits.

The Board denied the appellant's request for waiver of loan guaranty indebtedness due to his actions constituting bad faith, resulting in a loss after default.

The VA denied the appellant's claim for accrued benefits, stating that there was no evidence of a pending claim or entitlement to such benefits at the time of her husband's death.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility to receive VA nonservice-connected death pension benefits due to a lack of verified military service.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations for hallux valgus of the left and right feet prior to September 18, 2000 were denied. The case was remanded in June 2000 to determine whether separate 10 percent evaluations were warranted for each foot. After a VA examination on September 18, 2000, an increased evaluation of 10 percent was granted for the right and left feet effective September 18, 2000.

The Board found that the veteran's psoriatic arthritis was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and could not be presumed to have been incurred due to his service-connected psoriasis. The claim for service connection was denied.

The veteran withdrew his appeal before the Board could make a decision, thus dismissing the case.