Other conditions decisions — 2005

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased evaluations for his left great toe disability and left foot disability, finding that the evidence did not support an evaluation in excess of 20 percent prior to January 31, 1997, or a separate compensable evaluation for surgical scarring. The appellant's service-connected disabilities were found not to combine to prevent substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the appellant may be recognized as the veteran's surviving spouse based on her continuous cohabitation with him from their marriage in September 1972 until his death in February 1995.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining private medical records and scheduling a hearing. The veteran's claim for service connection for a left eye disability remains pending.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and adjudicative action due to incomplete medical records from Delta Community College Disability Student Services.

The Board has determined that the right lower leg disability manifested by atrophy was not incurred in or aggravated during service and is not caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability.

The Board denied service connection for liver damage as secondary to SLE and did not find factual ascertainability within the one-year period before November 5, 1992 for an earlier effective date of a 60 percent disability rating for SLE.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of extraction of a supernumerary tooth and eligibility for VA outpatient dental treatment due to periodontal disease, finding that there was no evidence of compensable disability or service-connected conditions.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and for basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35, finding that there was no evidence linking the veteran's fatal heart disease to service or a service-connected disability.

The appeal is being remanded to the RO for completion of a new hearing before the Board at the RO.

The Board denied the appellant's request for an earlier effective date for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits, finding that the criteria were not met. The effective date of June 22, 1996 was assigned based on the liberalizing law regarding Agent Orange exposure.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating of his service-connected low back disability, currently rated at 40 percent. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of incapacitating episodes or significant neurological deficits.

The Board denied a compensable evaluation for the GSW to the left thigh and remanded the left finger disability for additional development. The veteran's claim was initially granted with a noncompensable evaluation, but later assigned a 10 percent evaluation for the GSW to the second metacarpal.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records, and the appellant is asked to provide authorization for VA to obtain all relevant private treatment records from multiple providers.

The veteran's stress urinary incontinence was granted a 20 percent rating prior to January 12, 2004. From that date until the present, she has been rated at 20 percent.

The veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for his service-connected surgical removal of the left testicle is being remanded due to inadequate examination and need for further development. Additionally, he requested service connection for his right testicle as secondary to his left testicle.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as there was no credible supporting evidence of non-combat related stressors in service, and the veteran did not engage in combat with the enemy.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted since the March 1982 decision is not new and material, and thus the claims of service connection for swollen lymph glands with blindness and a back injury remain denied.

The Board denied reopening the claim for legal entitlement to VA benefits, finding no new and material evidence was submitted.

The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected Crohn's Disease, status post hemi-colectomy, currently rated at 30 percent.

The veteran's service is not sufficient to qualify for non-service-connected disability pension benefits, and the claim is denied.