Other conditions decisions — 2004

The Board has granted the veteran's waiver of recovery of an overpayment of pension benefits in the amount of $1,583. The decision found that it would be against equity and good conscience to recover this debt due to the veteran's lack of fault, no unjust enrichment, and potential financial hardship.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service medical records and additional clinical records from a Veterans Memorial Hospital are needed for further review.

The veteran's compensation benefits were reduced due to incarceration, but he did not file a claim for an apportionment within the required timeframe. As a result, his appeal is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination and further development of the record.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including a gunshot wound to the right chest and arm, have resulted in a combined rating of 70 percent. The Board finds that these conditions render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, thus granting a total compensation rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right inguinal hernia repair warrants a separate 10 percent disability rating, and his nerve entrapment syndrome of the right femoral nerve does not warrant an increased rating beyond the current 20 percent.

The veteran's claims for service connection for defective hearing in the left ear and a skin disorder, including one related to Agent Orange exposure, were denied. The Board found that there was no evidence of current hearing loss or a skin condition attributable to service or Agent Orange exposure.

The Board found that the veteran's injury was due to his willful misconduct, specifically intoxication from alcohol.

The Board denied increased evaluations for chondromalacia patella of the right knee and prostatitis, but granted a compensable evaluation for otitis media/otitis externa. The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable.

The veteran's claim for service connection for aortic insufficiency secondary to a congenital aortic valve abnormality was previously denied in 1984. New evidence received since then does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board granted an increased rating of 40 percent for radiculitis symptoms of the left upper extremity, status post C7-T1 disc excision and fusion, effective June 24, 1999.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed before the claim for an increased evaluation for discogenic disc disease at L5-S1 can be properly adjudicated.

The veteran's left knee conditions, including an anterior cruciate ligament rupture and medial meniscus tear, are currently rated at 30 percent. The VA has also granted a separate evaluation of 10 percent for postoperative degenerative changes of the left knee, effective February 1, 1995.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his cardiac arrest due to a ruptured right iliac aneurysm was not caused by any service-connected condition.

The Board found that there is no credible supporting evidence of the veteran's claimed in-service stressors, and thus denied service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death, metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary, was not caused or aggravated by his military service. The VA examiner opined that the in-service pneumonia did not contribute to the development of the cancer.

The appellant is not recognized as the veteran's surviving spouse for purposes of VA DIC benefits due to their marriage being terminated by divorce in 1981 and no subsequent marital relationship.

The veteran's claims under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. � 1151 are related to a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan of his brain in 1985, and he is seeking compensation for various conditions including skin disorders, eye disorders, ear disorders, strange feelings on the left side of the head, and memory loss.

The Board has requested medical opinions and is remanding the case for further development, including notification to the appellant of what evidence or information she needs to submit in order to substantiate her claim. The appeal will be returned to the RO for consideration.

The veteran is seeking compensation for eye and arm surgeries, as well as service connection for a loss of sight in the left eye. The case is being remanded to allow further development.