Other conditions decisions — 2009

The VA determined that there is no evidence of a left hand injury during service and insufficient medical evidence to establish a nexus between the current left hand condition and service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional records related to hearing tests and job applications. The claim will be reconsidered after these records are obtained.

The Veteran's service connection claim for a fungal infection, previously denied, is now granted as the evidence supports that his current condition is related to his in-service diagnosis and treatment.

The Board found that the appellant's husband was discharged under conditions other than honorable due to an absence without leave (AWOL) for over 180 days. The appellant argued that her husband had been released from military service due to General Demobilization and a presidential order disbanding the Guerilla Movement, but this evidence did not support his claim of compelling circumstances.

The Board has remanded the case for scheduling a Travel Board hearing and further development. The appellant's appeal is not about service connection, so no decision on that issue can be made.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for lost teeth, including as secondary to a septoturbinoplasty for a service-connected nasal septal deviation, is denied.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses for an abdominal aortic aneurysm incurred from February 16, 2005 to February 23, 2005 at St. Joseph were reimbursed due to the nature of his service-connected psychosis or schizophrenia and the circumstances surrounding the emergency treatment.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to the need to obtain additional evidence from the Veteran's former employer, Big C Machine Company.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a right thigh infection was denied, and his claim for an increased rating for the scar on his right thigh was also denied. The Board found that there were no non-scar residuals of the right thigh infection other than a scar, and the current scar did not warrant more than a 20 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the current nature and severity of his service-connected fracture of the left zygoma. The RO will also consider whether the condition should be rated under different diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's left peroneal nerve injury and recurrent urinary tract infections are caused by the March 2005 VA hospitalization, but were not reasonably foreseeable complications of the treatment.,VA compensation benefits for both conditions are granted.

The Veteran's lymphoma is causally related to trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemical solvent exposure during his period of active service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's spondylolisthesis at L4-5 has been rated as 60 percent disabling, effective from the date of the grant of service connection (December 11, 2000).

The Veteran's bilateral shin splints are rated as noncompensable prior to January 16, 2009 and as 10 percent disabling beginning January 16, 2009.

The Board found that the appellant did not have qualifying military service for VA benefits, including the one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.

The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, heart failure, was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any disability incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for a right lung condition, which was previously denied in April 1994. The Veteran's current lung disorder is being considered as potentially related to his service-connected gunshot wound.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for bowel incontinence, loss of bladder control, and numbness of the groin and rectum are being remanded due to the need for additional development. His claim for a higher rating for his service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood is also being remanded.

The Veteran seeks service connection for residuals of cold injury to his hands, including arthritis. The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right great toe crush injury, which he contends occurred during service, is related to his military service and grants service connection for residuals of a crush injury to the right great toe.