Other conditions decisions — 2005

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional medical evidence and scheduling a VA examination to determine the severity of the veteran's service-connected bilateral hallux valgus.

The veteran's dental conditions, including periodontal disease and a tooth extraction during service, are not compensable disabilities due to the specific regulations prohibiting compensation for missing teeth or periodontal disease.

The Board has granted an effective date of April 1, 1993 for additional improved disability pension benefits based on reestablishing a dependent spouse. The veteran and his spouse reunited in March [redacted], 1993, which is the earliest date that meets the criteria for establishing entitlement to these benefits.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board found that the veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (also diagnosed as large cell lymphoma) is not related to service or exposure to herbicides, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the veteran's current back injury is related to service. The veteran needs a VA examination to determine if he has a back disorder and whether it is at least as likely as not that any such disorder is related to an injury in service.

The VA determined that the veteran's TMJ dysfunction was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by his service-connected residuals of a fracture of the left zygoma.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a need for further examination. The appellant's claim of service connection for degenerative joint disease, L4-L5 is pending.

The VA denied the appellant's claim for benefits under Chapter 17 of Title 38, U.S. Code, as he did not have a current disability due to elephantiasis incurred during service.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of his death.

The appellant is not eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) or death pension benefits due to her marriage to the veteran being less than one year before his death, which does not meet the legal requirements.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his residuals of a subtotal gastrectomy, currently rated at 40 percent disabling. The VA found that the current disability rating adequately reflects the severity of the disorder.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The issues include seeking a rating in excess of 10 percent for bursitis of the left hip.

The veteran withdrew his appeal on the issue of an effective date earlier than January 21, 1997, for the grant of compensation benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 (West 1991), for anal fissure.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim of the appellant as the surviving spouse of the veteran for VA death benefits.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated service medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the existence of any current gastrointestinal disability.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected hiatal hernia is being remanded due to the need for additional VA examination and treatment records.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits due to the liberalizing regulation eliminating the 30-year time restriction for respiratory cancers due to exposure to Agent Orange by Vietnam Era veterans, which was effective January 1, 2002.

The veteran's claim for reimbursement of the cost of a prescription purchased from a private pharmacy in May and September 2002 is granted. The VAMC did not attempt to assist the veteran to obtain records reflecting whether the purchase was authorized.

The veteran's death was caused by multiple myeloma. The case is remanded to determine if the veteran served in Vietnam, which could affect service connection for his cause of death.