Other conditions decisions — 2008

The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not meet the legal criteria for recognition as a former prisoner of war for VA purposes due to lack of qualifying service.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development of records, including those from Dr. Mansel and pre-surgical evaluations.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of current pancreatitis related to the veteran's service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found no evidence of a hip disability in service and insufficient medical evidence to establish a current disability. Therefore, the claim for service connection for bilateral hips was denied.

The veteran's child is not eligible for DEA benefits because the effective date of his permanent total service-connected disability rating occurred after the child reached her 26th birthday.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a jaw disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board is remanding the case to the RO for further development, including consideration of new evidence and compliance with VCAA requirements.

The Board denied reopening of the claims for a skin disorder and vision disorder, and all other service connection claims were also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's postoperative residuals of a surgical repair of an umbilical hernia were not incurred in or aggravated by service.

The veteran's application for enrollment in VA healthcare benefits was denied as he is a nonservice-connected veteran whose completed application was received after January 17, 2003.

The VA has continued the current evaluation of 50 percent for the service-connected psychoneurosis, which is manifested by symptoms such as irritability, fatigue, social isolation, decreased concentration, and problems sleeping.

The Board has determined that the veteran's cause of death, multiple myeloma, is presumptively related to exposure to ionizing radiation during his captivity as a POW in Japan. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death from multiple myeloma due to such exposure is granted with an effective date of May 1, 1988.

The Board found that the appellant's death pension benefits should be terminated, effective August 1, 2007, as her income exceeded the maximum amount allowed by law.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his request for a Board hearing at the RO. The case will be returned after scheduling the hearing.

The Board has determined that the October 1970 rating decision denying service connection for a left ear disability was the product of clear and unmistakable error, and has granted service connection.

The Board denied the claim as new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen a previously final denial of service connection for retinochoroiditis with a history of chorioretinitis and iritis of the left eye due to the appellant's discharge from military service in January 1973 being under other than honorable conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a hearing before a member of the Board.

The Board found that the veteran's genitourinary disorder, gastrointestinal disorder, and right leg disorder (incisional hernia) are not related to service-connected residuals of a gunshot wound. The claims for these conditions were denied as secondary to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left inguinal herniorrhaphy with recurrent hernia does not meet or approximate the criteria for a rating higher than 10 percent.