Other conditions decisions — 2002

The VA denied an increased rating for a ruptured right quadriceps, currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board denied service connection for agoraphobia and determined that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim for residuals of pneumonia.,The veteran's current psychiatric disability, including a panic disorder with agoraphobia, is not shown to be related to any event or occurrence on active duty service.

The Board found that there is no evidence of an increase in disability prior to January 19, 1999 for the earlier effective date claims. For the 30% rating claims, the earliest date on which it was factually ascertainable that the veteran's cold injury residuals warranted a 30% evaluation was April 23, 2001.

The VA has determined that the appellant's service-connected allergic conjunctivitis, currently rated at 10 percent, does not warrant a higher rating since December 11, 1998.

The Board granted a 10 percent evaluation for the veteran's service-connected basal cell carcinomas of the face and neck, but denied a compensable rating for his scar below the right eye as a residual of an excision of a basal cell carcinoma.

The veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa, currently rated at 10 percent, is now rated at 30 percent due to extensive scarring and symptoms in the axillary, groin, and buttocks areas.

The veteran's hearing loss is considered to be a disability due to acoustic trauma in service, and the Board has granted service connection for bilateral impaired hearing disability.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of frozen feet and trench foot. The Board finds that these symptoms are as least as likely as not due to cold exposure during military service in Korea, rather than diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of multiple joints, claimed as due to cold injury. The VA found that while the veteran served in Korea and had a history of cold exposure, there was no evidence linking his current arthritis to this exposure or any other incident during service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for cubital tunnel syndrome, a tactile sensation (skin) disorder, and a perception-spatial coordination (eye) disorder as due to an undiagnosed illness. The appeals were based on the veteran's Persian Gulf War service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right tentorial meningioma is presumed to be due to radiation exposure during service, and thus grants his claim for service connection.

The Board found no clear and unmistakable error in the 1971 decision denying service connection for depressive neurosis.

The Board found that the veteran's spinal cord infarction was not caused by VA treatment, and thus denied his claim under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board denied the appellant's request for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of improved death pension benefits in the amount of $1,820. The decision stated that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience due to the appellant's fault in creating the debt.

The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, ventricular dysrhythmia due to ischemic cardiomyopathy and coronary atherosclerosis, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The Board also determined that there was no evidence linking the veteran's heart disease to his service-connected foot disabilities.

The Board denied an effective date earlier than March 16, 1999 for the grant of a 20 percent evaluation for service-connected ventral hernia.

The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal, and thus lost jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claim.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's chronic lymphocytic leukemia, finding that it is a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and thus warranting presumptive service connection due to Vietnam-era service.

The Board has determined that the veteran is not entitled to an increased evaluation for varicose veins of the left leg prior to January 12, 1998. Since then, he is not entitled to a rating in excess of 40 percent.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for colon cancer due to herbicide exposure, finding insufficient evidence linking the veteran's presumed Agent Orange exposure to his development of colon cancer.