Other conditions decisions — 2007

The veteran's son is seeking recognition as a helpless child of the veteran due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to reaching the age of 18 years. The case has been remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for nonservice-connected death pension benefits as he did not have qualifying service to meet the basic eligibility requirements.

The Board found that the veteran did not have qualifying service to establish basic legal entitlement to VA nonservice-connected death pension benefits. The claims for service connection for various conditions were denied as they are not related to the veteran's service.

The appellant is not recognized as the surviving spouse of the veteran for VA death benefits purposes.

The veteran's claim for an extension of the delimiting date for educational assistance benefits under Chapter 30, Title 38, United States Code (Montgomery GI Bill) beyond September 20, 2005 was denied as her basic chapter 30 delimiting period had expired. The Board found that there was no medical evidence showing a physical or mental disability prevented the veteran from initiating or completing an educational program during her basic chapter 30 delimiting period.

The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred on March 27, 2004 at Gulf Coast Hospital are approved as the treatment was for an emergent condition and a VA facility was not feasibly available.

The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence does not support service connection for disability due to dental trauma, and thus denies the veteran's claim.

The Board found that the veteran's liver disease, which was incurred during service and resulted from alcohol abuse, did not meet the criteria for service connection for the cause of his death.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and compensation are being remanded due to the need for a videoconference hearing at the Chicago, Illinois RO.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to exposure to Agent Orange during military service.

The veteran experiences lung damage as a result of complications from gall bladder surgery at the VA Medical Center in September 2001. The Board finds that this was not a foreseeable consequence and grants compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected residuals of a dog bite injury to the right thumb do not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent, as his disability does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation under any applicable diagnostic code.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but denied service connection for otitis externa of the right ear and left ear due to lack of current medical evidence.

The Board found that the veteran's chronic constipation, alternating with diarrhea, is likely due to his military service.

The Board has granted an initial 10 percent evaluation for the veteran's service-connected hallux rigidus of the right great toe, based on pain and loss of motion in his right first metatarsophalangeal joint.

The Board denied an increased initial rating for the residual conditions of a gunshot wound to the nose and dismissed the claim for a compensable rating on the basis of multiple noncompensable disabilities under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324.

The appellant withdrew her appeal regarding the denial of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death in March 2002.

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 cause of death.

The Board has granted the veteran's claims for service connection for left arm and left forearm shell fragment wounds, as well as for left elbow epicondylitis. The veteran is currently rated at 10 percent for each of these conditions.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for recognition as the surviving spouse of the veteran for DIC and VA death pension benefits due to her remarriage prior to November 1, 1990. The Board found that she was not eligible for reinstatement of eligibility as the surviving spouse.