Other conditions decisions — 2004

The Board found that the veteran's statements and testimony regarding his claimed in-service stressors were vague and inconsistent, thus not credible. As a result, PTSD was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for DIC benefits as she was not recognized as the veteran's surviving spouse due to her divorce from him at the time of his death.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a left hip and leg disorder, heart disease (including CAD, CHF, and CABG residuals), and an increased rating for his lumbosacral strain with left sacroiliac strain. The appeals were based on direct service connection without any presumption or secondary aggravation.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing records from Dr. Vhu or Zhu at Cochran VA Hospital in St. Louis, and additional treatment records from Indianapolis VA Medical Center.

The veteran's service does not meet the threshold requirements for VA pension benefits due to insufficient active duty service during a period of war.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for trench foot. The veteran's testimony at his hearing, combined with VA treatment records linking trench foot to his military service, raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected coccyx disability does not warrant a higher evaluation, as it is currently rated at 40 percent and no additional compensation is necessary under the revised spinal rating criteria.

The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the veteran's service-connected PTSD, effective from February 1, 2002.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for further development, including an additional VA examination and testing. The veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a respiratory disorder will be readjudicated after this is completed.

The Board has determined that the veteran's cardiac enlargement, including left atrial enlargement, was incurred during his active military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of information in the January 2003 VA examination and the need for updated treatment records. The veteran's claim is currently pending.

The Board has granted the appellant's claim to deduct $9,854 in unreimbursed medical expenses from the veteran's income for the purpose of adjusting his pension benefit.

The veteran claims that his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has caused or aggravated his hypertensive vascular disease. The VA examiner concluded it is not at least as likely as not that PTSD contributed to the development of hypertension, but did not provide an opinion on whether PTSD aggravated the condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current disability associated with residuals of a nose fracture sustained in service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's self-inflicted gunshot wound was due to his own willful misconduct, and not due to a mental illness.

The Board granted service connection for the veteran's left eye disorder and scars of the left eyebrow and lower eyelid, both rated as noncompensably disabling. The decision also provided an initial compensable evaluation (10%) for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a chronic stomach disability and therefore, service connection for a stomach disability is denied.

The Board found that there was no evidence to support the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to exposure to ionizing radiation, and thus denied the claim.

The veteran's service-connected weak feet disability has been essentially stable, but results in subjective complaints of pain, weakness, stiffness, swelling, fatigue and lack of endurance. The condition does not present an exceptional or unusual disability picture rendering impracticable the application of the regular schedular rating criteria.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for emphysema due to tobacco use in service, finding that it is a direct service-connected condition.