Other conditions decisions — 2003

The veteran does not meet the military service requirements to be eligible for non-service-connected pension benefits.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and readjudication, including assigning separate ratings for each of the polio residuals.

The Board dismissed the appeal as Social Security disability benefits are included by law as countable family income for improved nonservice-connected disability pension purposes.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for gastrointestinal disability, including postoperative residuals of achalasia, and a hernia. The veteran's current conditions are considered to be related to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's loss of feeling in his left hand and fingers is not due to his service-connected residuals of a fractured left wrist. The criteria for an increased evaluation for residuals of a fractured left wrist were also not met.

The veteran is granted compensation for residual memory and visual deficits resulting from a cerebral vascular accident (CVA) associated with VA treatment in January 1998, as these are the result of events not reasonably foreseeable in furnishing his treatment.

The Board has determined that the RO's decision denying an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for left myofascial pain dysfunction from August 5, 1997 to November 17, 1998 and a rating in excess of 20 percent thereafter is not supported by the evidence.

The Board is unable to determine whether the veteran's cause of death was service-connected due to new and material evidence not having been submitted, but also noting that there is no indication of exposure to herbicides or other presumed conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a left foot injury was denied, as new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the previously denied claim. The RO found that while the veteran's private physicians had found that his left foot disability was likely permanently aggravated by his active service, their opinions were not properly supported by medical rationale.

The veteran's service-connected herniated intervertebral disc is linked to arthritis of the lumbar spine and causes bilateral leg weakness. The claims for a neck disorder, left shoulder disorder, and TDIU are addressed but not decided in this decision.

The RO denied an increased rating for the veteran's third degree burn of the left foot, which is currently rated at 20 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's glioblastoma of the brain was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service. The Board also determined that a service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to the veteran's death, thus denying both claims for service connection and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance.

The VA has granted a higher initial rating for the veteran's service-connected atrial fibrillation, currently rated as 10 percent disabling.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected shell fragment wound to the right hand is being remanded due to new evidence and issues identified by the Court. The RO must ensure full compliance with the VCAA, consider Muscle Group IX involvement, and address separate compensable ratings under Diagnostic Codes 5003 and 5010.

The veteran's claim for a total evaluation based on individual unemployability resulting from service-connected back problems was granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not file a claim for service connection for a thoracic spine disability prior to June 16, 2000. Therefore, an effective date earlier than June 16, 2000 cannot be granted.

The veteran's service connection claim for primary myelofibrosis is granted as there is evidence linking the condition to his military service, specifically exposure to benzene while working in aircraft and helicopters.

The veteran's service-connected low back disability, characterized by spondylolysis at L4-5 with herniated nucleus pulposus and mild nerve root compression, was found to warrant a higher evaluation of 60 percent based on severe intervertebral disc syndrome.

The Board has found that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for keloids. The case is being remanded to the RO for further development of the evidence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right eye problems are attributable to an inservice right eye injury, and therefore service connection for residuals of a right eye injury is granted.