Other conditions decisions — 2008

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, artifact (nodule) of the right lung, benign skin lesions, and age-related maculopathy, bilateral cataracts, and pterygium. The remaining issues are pending.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, finding that there was no evidence of herbicide exposure and insufficient medical nexus to establish a link between his current condition and service.

The Board has denied service connection for arthritis of the hips and remanded the claim for hernia repair due to lack of evidence linking current conditions to service.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's right knee disability, but granted a separate 10 percent evaluation for arthritis of the right knee.

The Board finds that there is no in-service injury or disease manifesting numbness in the legs, and thus service connection for this condition cannot be granted. The veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to VA medical treatment is also denied as the evidence does not support a finding that the delay in diagnosis caused additional disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for VA educational benefits as he did not have qualifying active duty service and was not a member of the Selected Reserve.

The Board has remanded the case due to deficiencies in notice and a need for a VA medical opinion regarding the cause of the veteran's death.

The veteran's case is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a videoconference hearing at the RO. The veteran needs to take no further action until notified.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current left inguinal hernia disability to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service connection claim for residuals of PID, formerly considered as dysmenorrhea, is granted.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to VCAA compliance issues and seeking outstanding medical records.

The case is being remanded to the RO for initial review and consideration of additional evidence, including the appellant's tax return from 2000 and a June 10, 2006 letter from a social services worker. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument.

The Board found that the veteran's actions constituted bad faith, precluding further consideration of waiver of recovery of the loan guaranty indebtedness.

The Board granted service connection for post-traumatic spondylolisthesis of L4-L5 and spinal canal stenosis. The skin disability claim was reopened, but the RO is still required to adjudicate it further.

The veteran's service-connected left knee disability was granted with a 10 percent rating effective July 7, 2002. The RO has not assigned staged ratings for the period prior to August 20, 2002 and from November 1, 2002 onwards.

The VA granted service connection for costochondritis and assigned a 20% rating effective from March 7, 2006. The veteran seeks further increase in disability compensation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current residuals of a cyst, left jaw are related to and can not be reasonably disassociated from his military service, thus granting service connection.

The Board has granted a combined initial evaluation of 40 percent for hidradenitis of the left buttock, right buttock, and left axilla. The veteran's disability is rated by analogy under Diagnostic Code 7801 (scars other than head, face, or neck that are deep or cause limited motion).

The veteran is seeking to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis. The RO will need to provide him with proper VCAA notice and obtain relevant medical records from the Wall, SSA decision, and any other pertinent evidence.

The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as a failure to establish that driving under the influence was misconduct.