Other conditions decisions — 2007

The veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the reopening of his claim for service connection for left thigh shrapnel fragment wounds. As a result, the Board does not have jurisdiction to consider this issue.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right elbow disorder, diagnosed as cubital tunnel syndrome, is not related to his military service or his service-connected disabilities. The claim for service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a left eye injury and warts of both feet, finding no evidence of such conditions during military service or any relationship to service.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death on the merits in May 2002. The appellant did not appeal this decision.,No new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The veteran's service connection claims for muscle twitching and muscle/joint pain, shortness of breath and impaired sleep, and nausea, gastric pain, and urinary/bowel difficulty have been granted based on presumptive service connection due to undiagnosed illness from Gulf War service. The restrictive ventilatory impairment is considered a separate issue not directly related to the claimed conditions.

The Board denied a disability rating higher than 10 percent for the veteran's partial rupture of the right quadriceps, finding that the objective findings did not reflect a moderately severe muscle injury.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have PTSD, and thus service connection for this condition is denied. The issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability is referred to the RO for further action.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA physician's opinion regarding whether methadone treatment was a precipitating factor in the veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's tooth number 8 was filled after 180 days of active service and was never noted to be diseased before that. The veteran did not receive notification within 90 days of discharge from service regarding the need for VA dental treatment, thus meeting the criteria for one-time completion basis outpatient dental treatment.

The Board denied increased ratings for residuals of nose fracture and duodenal ulcer, and declined to reopen the claim for service connection for residuals of left knee injury.

The Board found that the veteran's memory loss is not related to his military service or his service-connected seizure disorder, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board determined that the appellant did not have the requisite military service to establish entitlement to VA nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen his forfeiture of VA benefits due to lack of new and material evidence, concluding that the additional evidence did not address the issue at hand.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary before the claim for death pension benefits can be decided. This includes notifying the appellant of what information and evidence she needs to provide, as well as allowing her an opportunity to respond.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected hearing loss did not warrant a compensable disability rating, as it resulted in Level II hearing acuity in both ears.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to lack of verification of the appellant's father's alleged Merchant Marine service.

The veteran's claim for an effective date prior to 6 July 2004 for the grant of special monthly pension based on the need for regular aid and attendance was denied as there is no legal basis for such a request.

The Board denied the appellant's claim as her deceased spouse did not have qualifying service to establish eligibility for VA benefits.

The Board found that the January 1974 rating decision reducing the disability rating for psychoneurosis from 30% to 10% was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous. The veteran's claim regarding an effective date prior to September 5, 2002, for service connection for prostate cancer is denied.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a review of his employment status and eligibility for Priority Group 7 health benefits. The AOJ should adjudicate this issue, which was not addressed by the original decision.