Other conditions decisions — 2008

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected bilateral pleural plaques do not warrant a higher evaluation as his symptoms are primarily due to nonservice-connected emphysema.

The Board denied reopening the veteran's claim for service connection for dyspnea, secondary to old granulomatous disease (probably histoplasmosis) with psychological overlay due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board found no evidence of a current heart or cardiovascular disability other than the service-connected pericarditis with diastolic dysfunction, and thus denied the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a VA pulmonary examination and private medical records.

The Board granted the veteran's increased rating for residuals of gunshot wound of the left arm involving Muscle Group VIII, currently evaluated as 30 percent disabling.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for bilateral defective vision, including optic atrophy in the left eye and granted it. The veteran's current condition is found to be related to his military service.

The veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for joint inflammation in each hand.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and adjudication of the issue of entitlement to an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The appeal was denied because the appellant's claim for VA disability benefits based on his alleged service during World War II has not been supported by new and material evidence.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence establishing a nexus between the veteran's death and his military service.

The Board found that a service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially to the veteran's death, and that he was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for shrapnel wound injury to the buttocks, genital herpes, and new and material evidence to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss.

The veteran's coccidioidomycosis is characterized by chronic pulmonary mycosis with minimal symptoms, such as occasional minor hemoptysis or productive cough. The Board finds that a rating in excess of 30 percent for the veteran's service connected coccidioidomycosis with lobectomy, right upper lobe, and resection, right fifth rib has not been met.

The Board found that the veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal in connection with the June 2003 rating decision, and thus denied the appeal as a matter of law.

The veteran's former attorney is granted the claim for revocation of the award of attorney fees from past-due benefits, in the calculated amount of $53,472.53.

The Board concluded that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially or materially contributed to by a disability incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service.

The Board found that the appellant did not have qualifying military service and therefore was not a veteran for purposes of entitlement to VA benefits.

The appellant's discharge from service, under other than honorable conditions, was under dishonorable conditions for VA purposes, thus constituting a bar to VA benefits.

The veteran has a factual need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, granting entitlement to SMC.