Other conditions decisions — 2006

The Board denied the appellant's request for waiver of a $5,501 overpayment in VA pension benefits due to her failure to report earned income from 1998. The decision found that recovery would not be against equity and good conscience.

The Board has determined that no new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the appellant's claim for service connection for cause of the veteran's death, which was previously denied in September 1983.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of the veteran's back disability and to determine if there is any limitation due to pain. The appeal will be reconsidered after this additional development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's ulcerative colitis does not meet the criteria for a restoration of a 60 percent rating, as his condition is currently stable and does not demonstrate severe symptoms with numerous attacks during the year or malnutrition.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination and proper notice under VCAA. The veteran's claim will be reconsidered based on the new evidence.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) as there is no evidence of mild, incomplete paralysis due to HPP. The condition has been attributed to service-connected peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has determined that A.A.L., the veteran's son, is not a helpless child due to lack of evidence showing he was permanently incapable of self-support by age 18.

The veteran's service-connected varicose veins disability has been manifested by slight hyperpigmentation, severe edema, and chronic stasis dermatitis of the left lower extremity. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a higher rating for varicose veins of the left lower extremity.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 10% evaluation of his service-connected right thumb fracture with traumatic arthritis, finding that there was no CUE in the July 1975 rating decision and that the criteria for an earlier effective date were not met.

The Board found no evidence of a right hand disorder during service and no medical nexus linking the current condition to service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board found that the appellant's dishonorable discharge bars him from receiving VA benefits based on his service between March 1989 and June 1998.

The VA determined that the veteran's right hand laceration residuals do not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent, as they are manifested by asymptomatic scars and mild incomplete paralysis of the median nerve.

The Board finds that the appellant's behavior during military service, including disobedience of orders and disrespect towards superior officers, constituted willful and persistent misconduct. The appellant was not insane at the time of the offenses. Therefore, his character of discharge is a bar to VA compensation benefits.

The Board found no evidence of a bilateral hallux valgus disability during service and denied the claim for service connection. The veteran's arthritis of both feet was not shown to be related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the appellant's application for nonservice-connected VA burial benefits was timely filed.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA benefits due to a lack of qualifying service in the United States Armed Forces.

The Board found that the submitted evidence was not new and material, thus denying the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection of residuals of a left hip injury.

The veteran's claim for educational benefits under Chapter 30, Title 38 was denied because she did not meet the service requirements for basic eligibility. She served less than the required 30 months of active duty.

The appellant seeks retroactive education benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code for the period from April 2000 to May 2001. The Board denied this claim as her application was received over one year after the effective date of a TDIU award in April 2002.

The veteran's application for VA education benefits pertaining to his police departmental training from September 19, 1994 to either January 1995 or September 1996 was first received at the RO on March 11, 2004. The Board found that the veteran is not entitled to payment for training pursued more than one year prior to the date of his application and denied his claim.