Other conditions decisions — 2005

The Board dismissed the appeal as the veteran's attorney withdrew the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for residuals of a collapsed left lung.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have an acquired eye disability, anisometropia, related to his active military service. The left shoulder bicipital tendinitis is currently rated as 10 percent disabling and there is no evidence of dislocation or nonunion with loose movement. The reduction from a 100 percent rating for schizophrenia to 70 percent effective November 1, 1996 is denied.

The Board finds that the veteran's service-connected duodenal ulcer disease with partial gastrectomy does not warrant a rating higher than 40 percent.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was granted effective June 17, 2002. The appeal is REMANDED as the RO should issue a statement of the case addressing the issue of entitlement to an effective date prior to June 17, 2002.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete information and potential changes in the veteran's condition.

The veteran's claim for service connection for basal cell carcinoma and other skin lesions, claimed as due to sun exposure in the Republic of Vietnam, is being remanded for additional development.

The Board denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board denied the claim as no new and material evidence was received to reopen the service connection for peptic ulcers.

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for his back disability and varicose veins was denied. The maximum schedular rating of 60 percent is already assigned for the herniated nucleus pulposus at L5-S1, status-post diskectomy.

The Board has determined that the veteran's nicotine dependence, which began during service, was a contributory cause of his death from emphysema and cor pulmonale. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted. Additionally, eligibility for dependent's educational assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code, is established.

The veteran's case is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the extent and nature of his service-connected dermatophytosis. The claim will be reconsidered based on this new evidence.

The VA determined that the veteran's defective hearing in his left ear does not warrant a compensable evaluation, and found that he is not unemployable due to service-connected disabilities alone.

The Board has determined that the appellant's discharge under other than honorable conditions is a bar to VA benefits based on his service.

The VA determined that the veteran's incisional hernia and chest wall pain syndrome were not caused by any fault on the part of the VA, and thus denied his claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board denied an effective date prior to March 2, 1999 for a separate 10 percent evaluation for degenerative joint disease and limitation of motion of the left knee.

The VA denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for Osgood-Schlatter's disease of the left knee, finding that the veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on his full range of motion and no evidence of instability.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his right toe disability was denied because the medical evidence did not establish that his disability met the criteria for a higher rating. The claims for service connection for left foot, left leg, and bilateral knee disabilities were also denied as they were not shown to be related to service or related to a service-connected disability.

The Board denied service connection for chondromalacia of the right and left patella, but granted service connection for respiratory disability including asthma due to an undiagnosed illness.

The veteran's service connection claims for elbow arthralgias and memory loss are granted as they are presumed to have been incurred in service due to undiagnosed illness. The claim for left elbow ulnar irritation is remanded.

The Board found that a chronic disability of the spine and back was not present during service or for many years afterward, and the appellant's current disability is not etiologically related to service.