Other conditions decisions — 2008

The veteran died in mid-1998 and was divorced at the time of his death. The appellant, who filed for VA benefits as a surviving spouse, is not recognized as such due to her divorce from the veteran prior to his death.

The veteran's right and left knee disabilities have been rated at 10 percent since April 11, 2008. The appeal is granted as the disability meets the criteria for a 10 percent rating under DC 5262.

The Board denied the veteran's claims as there is no evidence of active iritis or significant vision loss from his bilateral pterygia. The current ratings for residuals of iritis of the right eye and bilateral pterygia are found to be appropriate based on the available medical evidence.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for VA educational assistance under Chapter 30, Title 38 United States Code (the Montgomery GI Bill) because he did not meet the eligibility requirements based on his service record and information provided by VA was incomplete.

The case is being remanded for further clarification of the decedent's service status to determine eligibility for VA non-service-connected death pension.

The Board has determined that the veteran's cyst of the spleen, colon polyps, and hiatal hernia are related to service. The effective dates for these conditions have not been established as requested.

The veteran is seeking service connection for dizziness and loss of equilibrium, which he claims are related to his service-connected shell fragment wound to the head. The case has been remanded for further examination and opinion regarding whether these symptoms constitute a chronic disability and if they are related to his service-connected conditions.

The veteran's service-connected stroke contributed to his death from pulmonary abscess. Service connection for the cause of death is granted.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of new evidence. The issue remains about educational assistance benefits at a full-time rate of payment for a specific term.

The veteran's application for enrollment in the VA healthcare system was denied due to his non-service-connected status, high income, and net worth exceeding thresholds.

The Board denied service connection for hair loss and night sweats, finding no evidence of a chronic disability during active duty or after discharge.,Service connection was not granted as the veteran's hair loss is considered an undiagnosed illness due to her Gulf War service.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for service connection for abdominal cellular leiomyoma with total abdominal hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy, finding no evidence of a link to her active service. The claim for PTSD due to in-service sexual assault was granted.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a traumatic head injury are rated as brain disease due to trauma (Diagnostic Code 8045). The VA examiner found no objective findings of chronic, identifiable neurologic pathology such as hemiplegia, epileptiform seizures, or facial nerve paralysis. As the residuals are primarily subjective in nature, the currently assigned 10 percent rating is the highest schedular rating available for that disability.

The veteran's right knee condition was rated at 100% for one year following his September 27, 2007 total knee replacement. The case is now before the Board to determine if an increased rating is warranted after this period.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hand arthritis did not manifest within one year of discharge and was not related to service. The low back disability evaluation remained at 20 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral chondromalacia, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by active service and is unrelated to service-connected bilateral pes planus.

The Board found that the veteran did not act in bad faith in creating an overpayment of $29,736.00 and granted waiver of recovery of this debt.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hallux valgus was not incurred during service and is not proximately due to a service-connected disability, leading to a denial of the claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected gastric ulcer with ulcerative colitis warrants a 60 percent rating, which is higher than the current 20 percent rating.

The veteran's condition is equivalent to severe incomplete paralysis of the median nerve, warranting a 40 percent rating for the non-dominant arm. The claim is granted.