Other conditions decisions — 2006

The Board is remanding the case to the RO for further development and readjudication, including compliance with the requirements of Kent v. Nicholson.

The Board has determined that the veteran's basal cell carcinoma is not related to his military service and denied both his claim for service connection as well as his request for an initial compensable rating for pneumoconiosis.

The Board is remanding the case to allow the appellant another opportunity for a hearing at the RO before a Veterans Law Judge.

The veteran's prostate adenocarcinoma status post brachytherapy is being remanded for further evaluation and additional evidence collection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected residuals, left hip injury is characterized by moderate symptoms of impaired function due to pain and limited motion. The claim for an increased rating from 10% to 20% was granted.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits, finding that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection due to new evidence provided by the veteran's physician, which suggests that his muscular dystrophy first manifested during his period of active service. The Board found that this evidence is significant enough to consider in deciding the merits of the claim.

The case is being remanded to the RO for further development and readjudication, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper VCAA notice.

The Board found that the veteran was at fault in creating the overpayment of disability benefits due to his failure to notify VA of his incarceration. The Board concluded that recovery of the $74,085 overpayment would not be against equity and good conscience as it did not defeat the purpose of the benefit program or result in undue hardship.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current degenerative joint disease of the right knee is etiologically related to his service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for special monthly death pension based on being permanently housebound due to a lack of evidence showing she is confined to her home by reason of any disability.

The Board found that the veteran's left foot disorders were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected gunshot wound to the neck, including myositis of the back muscles and injury to Muscle Group (MG) XXIII. The current evaluation remains at 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of sickle cell disease or any chronic disability manifested by sickle cell trait, and thus service connection for these conditions is denied.

The veteran's right total hip replacement is rated at 70 percent since December 1, 2001. The appeal for a rating in excess of 70 percent remains pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right eye disorder, including cataract and refractive error, is not due to service or a service-connected condition. The opinion of VA medical experts supports this conclusion.

The VA has determined that the veteran's service-connected conversion disorder does not meet or approximate the criteria for a rating in excess of 30 percent, as his symptoms do not cause more than occasional occupational and social impairment with a decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Board found that the veteran's purpura hemorrhagica was incurred in service and contributed to his death, granting service connection for the cause of death.

The veteran's skin disability is not considered service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his military service or exposure to herbicides.

The Board has determined that the cause of death, cardiogenic shock with an underlying cause of acute myocardial infarction, did not have its onset during active service or any applicable presumptive period and is not related to any in-service disease or injury. Therefore, a service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to cause the veteran's death.