Other conditions decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the appellant's abbreviated period of active service did not terminate under dishonorable conditions, thus there is no legal bar to the award of VA disability benefits.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected chronic back strain with degenerative changes warrants a 20 percent disability rating, as it involves moderate limitation of motion of the lumbar spine.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a left elbow condition and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for his service-connected rheumatoid arthritis. However, he was denied a compensable rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The veteran's unauthorized hospitalization at Hillcrest Medical Center for treatment of a urinary tract infection and hydrocele was not authorized by VA, as it did not meet the legal criteria for reimbursement or payment.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for cause of the veteran's death, finding no new and material evidence to reopen her case.

The VA denied an increased rating for the appellant's service-connected schizoaffective disorder, finding that it did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board denied the appellant's request for a waiver to recover an overpayment of death pension benefits, finding that her actions constituted bad faith and resulted in a loss to the government.

The appeal has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew their appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for her postoperative laminectomy and diskectomy, L5-S1, finding that she did not meet the criteria for such an increase based on the evidence of record.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected right zygomatic complex fracture does not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent, as there is no evidence of malunion or nonunion with severe displacement.

The veteran's knee disabilities, specifically chondromalacia of both knees and limitation/pain on motion of the knees, were granted increased ratings to 20 percent each. The issues related to these conditions are now resolved.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected residuals of a benign nevus of the left chest do not warrant a compensable rating as there is no evidence of ulceration, pain or limitation of function.

The Board has found no etiologic relationship between service-connected residuals of a fracture of the jaw and right trigeminal neuralgia, thus denying the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's left leg disability existed prior to service and did not undergo a permanent increase in severity during service. The claim for sinusitis was reopened due to new evidence, but no decision on its merits was made.

The veteran requested to withdraw their appeal due to a change of circumstances, and the Board has dismissed the case without prejudice.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support a current disability resulting from any left heel injury in service, and thus the claim for service connection for residuals of a left heel fracture is denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran is entitled to an effective date of March 21, 1990 for the award of service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The veteran's bilateral varicose veins were rated at 20 percent from April 7, 1994 to January 11, 1998. The right leg was rated at 20 percent from January 12, 1998 to June 2, 2000 and at 40 percent after that date. The left leg was rated at 20 percent from January 12, 1998 to August 31, 1998 and at 50 percent after that date.

The Board found that the veteran's leukemia was not incurred in or aggravated by service and could not be presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure. The claim for service connection was denied.