Other conditions decisions — 2007

The veteran has withdrawn his appeal for service connection claims related to arthritis of the right big toe, a liver cyst, and a lymph node disorder.

The appellant withdrew her appeal regarding the apportionment of the veteran's benefits, resulting in the dismissal of the case.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and for Dependents' Educational Assistance, concluding that ALS did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.

The veteran's bunions of the left and right great toes are each assigned a 10% evaluation, effective December 9, 2003.

The veteran's claim for nonservice-connected pension was denied as he does not meet the basic service eligibility requirements.

The Board found that the veteran's postoperative right foot bunion with hallux valgus produced impairment consistent with no more than moderate foot injury, and therefore denied a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's varicose veins of the right leg do not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent, as they do not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation based on persistent edema or stasis pigmentation/eczema.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether the veteran's death was related to service or a service-connected condition, and because records from Dorothy McCormick Center and Tri-State Radiation Oncology are needed.

The Board found that the veteran's chronic metatarsalgia, status post osteotomy of the left third toe, and bilateral hallux valgus do not more closely approximate a moderately severe foot injury warranting a higher disability rating.

The case is being remanded for the veteran's representative to provide argument in support of his claim, as he has not been given an opportunity to do so.

The Board has granted a 10 percent evaluation for the veteran's residuals of right inguinal hernia repair with entrapment of the ilio-inguinal nerve, finding that this impairment is severe.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to new evidence linking his right arm pain to a VA-administered flu shot in October 1998, but denied the underlying claim as there was no fault on the part of VA or an unforeseeable event.

The Board denied the veteran's motion alleging clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in a prior August 1968 RO decision that denied service connection for bilateral hip disabilities. The Board found no CUE.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic ulcer or rectal bleeding disorder during service and denied the veteran's claims for service connection.

The Board has determined that the appellant is not the veteran's surviving spouse for VA benefit purposes due to her divorce from the veteran in 1979 and his subsequent remarriage.

The Board denied a compensable rating for residuals of shell fragment wound to the left mid-scapula, for accrued benefits purposes. The veteran's service-connected disability was rated based on asymptomatic scar and did not meet criteria for any higher evaluation.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 40 percent for residuals from a right orchiectomy due to orchalgia as of June 28, 2004.

The Board denied a higher initial rating for the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound of the right lower abdomen, evaluating it as noncompensable prior to August 30, 2002 and 10 percent disabling thereafter.

The Board has determined that an effective date prior to August 16, 2002 for the grant of service connection for residuals of a head injury is denied.

The veteran's unnecessary abdominal hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy with premature menopause are found to be compensable under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, and she is granted SMC based on the loss of use of a creative organ related to this surgery.