Other conditions decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the overpayment of $20,128.00 was properly created due to the appellant's failure to report her earned income and that the amount is correct based on an audit. The Board also found no indication of fraud or bad faith in creating the overpayment.

The Board found that the veteran's ankylosing spondylitis was not caused or chronically worsened by his service-connected bacillary dysentery.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability were denied. The case was remanded multiple times, but the final decision remains that these claims are not granted.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The appellant claimed that the veteran was treated for conditions in service, but the Board determined this evidence did not provide a new factual basis.

The Board granted an effective date of April 8, 1995 for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The appellant's claim was filed in February 26, 1996, and the one-year period prior to this filing showed intermittent employment made difficult by his psychiatric symptomatology.

The Board determined that the appellant was not permanently incapable of self-support prior to age 18, based on her educational and employment history.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA death benefits as her spouse did not have verified service in the United States Armed Forces.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied the appellant's claim for reinstatement of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits as the unmarried widow of a veteran due to her remarriage in 1953, which was not considered a legal proceeding to terminate an existing marital relationship prior to November 1, 1990.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for a heart murmur, which was previously denied in February 1971. The current medical records do not show any disability from a heart murmur.

The Board denied service connection for postoperative left slipped femoral epiphysis, finding it was a developmental defect and not a disease or injury within the meaning of applicable legislation.

The veteran's overpayment of VA Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation subsistence allowance was denied because the Board found that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience, given the circumstances surrounding his cessation of enrollment in the program.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected conditions do not warrant increased evaluations, as they are currently manifested by inactive and well-healed conditions without active symptoms or functional impairment.

The veteran's injuries resulting from a September 1997 motor vehicle accident, where he was driving under the influence of alcohol, are considered to be due to his own willful misconduct. Therefore, the claim for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes is denied.

The Board has granted an extraschedular rating of 30 percent for the veteran's fistula due to a stitch abscess from a right inguinal hernia repair, finding that it presents such an exceptional or unusual disability picture as to render impractical the application of the regular schedular standards.

The Board denied service connection for a spinal disorder with probable neurogenic bladder, but granted an increased evaluation for the veteran's ingrown right great toenail and removal of right great toenail.

The Board denied the appellant's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA improved death pension benefits, finding that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of service connection for poliomyelitis, which was previously denied in November 1986. The requirements to reopen the claim have been met.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bronchiectasis in January 1960, and this decision is final. The Board found that there was no clear and unmistakable error in its decision.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder of the feet, finding that there is no evidence linking this condition to his military service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been presented to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for a skin disorder or carcinoma of the rectum with colostomy, including as due to exposure to Agent Orange. The veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.