Other conditions decisions — 2005

The Board found no evidence of radiation exposure during service and concluded that the veteran's colon and liver cancer is not related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran was at fault in creating the overpayment of VA pension benefits. The decision grants waiver of recovery for half of the overpayment amount, $15,203.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected blindness of the left eye does not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as it is currently rated at 30 percent.

The Board found that the veteran did not have chronic shin splints during service and that there is no evidence linking the condition to service. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for further examination and readjudication of the service connection issues.

The Board denied service connection for carcinoma of the lower lip and emphysema, both claimed as secondary to tobacco use in service. The evidence did not support a finding that nicotine dependence was acquired during service or that post-service tobacco use caused these conditions.

The VA has determined that the veteran's right hip disability, post-total right hip replacement, does not warrant a rating higher than 50 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for a torn right medial meniscus and headaches, both currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling.

The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for the service-connected gynecological disabilities (uterine leiomyoma, genital herpes, atypical squamous cell and chronic cervicitis) effective from April 4, 1996.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for head injury with memory loss, postoperative residuals of pituitary and brain tumors, and a bilateral eye disorder (claimed as nerve damage), finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for his service-connected spondylolisthesis of L5-S1, finding that the disability manifested by pain throughout the ranges of back motion without neurologic impairment or ankylosis.

The veteran's service-connected right posterior thigh disability is rated at 20 percent, effective from June 1992. His left calf disability remains at a 10 percent rating.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for the residuals of an insect bite to the right leg, with a 100% disability rating effective from February 25, 1994.

The Board has determined that the appellant did not have valid military service for VA benefits and therefore denied their claim.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a disability incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service, including exposure to herbicides.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected residuals of bullet wound causing compound fracture upper third left tibia and fibula, requiring skin grafting with residuals of severe injury anterior muscles of left leg.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a VA examiner's opinion regarding the origin of the veteran's heart problems and whether they are related to his service.

The veteran's death was not service-connected due to the cause of his death (renal cell carcinoma and ALS) being unrelated to any in-service disease or injury. The claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35 also lacks legal entitlement.

The Board found that the veteran's arthritis of multiple joints did not have its onset in service or preexist service and was not permanently worsened therein, nor was it diagnosed within one year after separation from service. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.