Other conditions decisions — 2008

The Board has determined that an overpayment of $223.00 in educational benefits has been properly created and assessed against the appellant.

The appeal is remanded to ensure proper compliance with the Board's previous remand instructions.

The veteran's application to reopen the claim for service connection for residuals of partial stomach removal was denied, and his request for a total disability rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was also denied.

The Board finds that it is at least as likely as not that the appellant's right index finger injury was incurred during his active service, and grants service connection for the residuals of a right index finger injury.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a sinus disorder as there was no medical evidence linking his current condition to his military service.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development.

The appeal to reopen a claim for entitlement to VA benefits was denied as new and material evidence was not received.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral leg disability and left lung disorder, finding that the conditions were of post-service onset.

The veteran's claim for service connection for back strain was remanded to the RO for additional development, including scheduling a hearing if the veteran still desires one.

The Board denied the attorney's claim for payment of fees from past-due benefits awarded to the veteran's widow based on the RO's grant of DIC benefits.

The veteran's service-connected partial impotency due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome was not found to be manifested by a deformity of the penis, and therefore did not meet the criteria for an initial compensable evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a neck disorder as there was no evidence of a current disability or an in-service injury, disease, or event.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of nonservice-connected pension benefits was denied as no record or communication documented to have been received officially by VA before April 22, 2003, may be construed as a claim for such benefits.

The Board remands the issues of service connection for a fungal skin infection and an increased rating for degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine for further development.

The Board grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as his service-connected disabilities contributed to his demise.

The Board concluded that the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for a right hip infection, claimed as a result of treatment received from a VAMC, was not established.

The Board granted an effective date of November 27, 1980, for the grant of service connection for a schizoaffective disorder.

The appellant's countable income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate for each year from 2003 to 2006, resulting in the denial of death pension benefits.

The veteran's initial rating for residuals of a pilonidal cyst, characterized as a scar, was denied an increase to more than 10 percent.

The veteran's hiatal hernia has been rated at 30 percent, and the Board found that there was no evidence to support a higher rating.