Other conditions decisions — 2005

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a spinal cord injury and a crushing injury to the left arm, as well as his claim for an increased rating for bilateral De Quervain's disease. The issues are remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and further development is required before final adjudication can be made.

The Board denied the appellant's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of death pension benefits due to her actions constituting bad faith in not reporting her Social Security income.

The Board has remanded the case for further review of the evidence, including a recent independent medical opinion. The veteran's claim for service connection for right eye blindness secondary to radiation treatment for lymphoepithelioma is pending.

The Board has decided that additional development is needed before the service connection claim for residuals of epididymitis, including sterility, can be fully adjudicated.

The Board has determined that the veteran's prostate disability was not incurred or aggravated during his period of recognized active duty service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected left knee disability, manifested by moderate atrophy of his left thigh and complaints of pain, warrants a 20 percent rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left fifth metacarpal disability does not warrant a compensable evaluation as his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for any higher rating.

The Board has determined that a rating in excess of 10 percent for flexion contracture of the fourth and fifth fingers is not warranted based on the current evidence.

The Board has determined that the appellant cannot be recognized as the deceased veteran's surviving spouse for VA death pension benefit purposes due to her remarriage, which was terminated by divorce.

The veteran's stomach cancer was determined to be a direct result of VA medical treatment, specifically the placement of a feeding tube (PEG), which caused the spread of his throat cancer. The Board found that this event was not reasonably foreseeable and granted compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board found that the veteran's fractures of the right 5th metatarsal and right 5th phalanx were not caused by his service-connected residuals of a right malleolus fracture, and thus denied the claim.

The veteran's service-connected conditions have been assigned initial ratings, but the issues of higher initial ratings remain unresolved.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the appellant's claims for accrued benefits and service connection for the cause of her husband's death. The RO must ensure compliance with VCAA requirements, including notification about what evidence is needed to substantiate the claims.

The Board denied an increased disability evaluation for the veteran's aseptic necrosis, right carpal scaphoid, currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board has remanded the case due to additional evidence submitted by the appellant-widow, and she is instructed to respond to a new Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).

The veteran's appeal for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected chronic bilateral epididymitis with chronic prostatitis, currently rated at 40 percent.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for actinic keratosis and granted it, finding that the evidence is at least as likely as not that the condition was caused by sun exposure during active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty regarding the veteran's periods of active military service and a need for further medical opinion on whether the current fungus condition is related to her service.