Other conditions decisions — 2004

The Board has determined that the veteran's ALS is due to disease or injury incurred in service, specifically related to exposure to chemicals and/or other toxic substances during his military service.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA death benefits due to a certification from the service department stating that her father had no recognized military service as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, including the recognized guerrillas, in the service of the United States Armed Forces.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for basic eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) non-service connected disability pension due to a lack of qualifying service in the recognized guerrilla forces.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examination and further development due to uncertainty in the underlying etiology of the appellant's current damage and disfigurement of the jaw.

The Board found that the appellant was free from fraud, misrepresentation, and bad faith in creating an overpayment of improved pension benefits. The appeal is granted.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for post traumatic stress disorder, finding that credible evidence established an in-service stressor and a current diagnosis of PTSD.

The Board found that the veteran does not have residuals of his in-service eye injuries and does not currently have a skin disability of the back. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The VA denied an increased evaluation for the veteran's service-connected pleurisy of the left lung with chronic fibrosis, currently rated at 10 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's left hip and lower extremity disability existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found no evidence to support service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, and denied the claim.

The Board found no current disability associated with presumed Agent Orange exposure and denied service connection for exposure to Agent Orange. The claim of an increased rating for chest wall injury is remanded due to the need for further development.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for left index finger amputation residuals is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development of records.

The Board has determined that the veteran's neck injuries and right eye injuries are service-connected, with no new evidence presented to reopen the claim for residuals of a right eye injury.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred in or aggravated by active service, nor did any disability incurred in or aggravated by active service substantially or materially contribute to his death.

The Board has determined that the July 23, 1947 rating decision was clearly and unmistakably erroneous in not assigning a 30% evaluation for severe muscle injury due to a compound comminuted fracture with muscle damage from the shrapnel wound.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for service-connected bilateral defective hearing, including the propriety of a reduction from 70 to 60 percent, is being remanded due to incomplete notification and development under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA).

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for throat cancer as secondary to exposure to Agent Orange, finding that there was no evidence linking the cancer to his military service or herbicide exposure.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of her hiatal hernia, left foot injury, and right foot fracture were denied. The current evaluations are found to be appropriate based on the evidence provided.

The Board granted the veteran's basic eligibility for VA nonservice-connected disability pension benefits based on his active duty service during a period of war, despite not meeting the 90-day requirement due to his discharge being under honorable conditions and not due to a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to failure to readjudicate the claim and provide proper VCAA notice.