Other conditions decisions — 2009

The Veteran's claim for an effective date before September 27, 1999, for the grant of service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia due to exposure to certain herbicides, including Agent Orange, in Vietnam during the Vietnam era is denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of CUE in the October 1970 and December 1977 rating actions, as well as his earlier effective date claims. The October 1970 decision was not clearly erroneous, and the December 1977 decision did not contain CUE.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for the issue of entitlement to TDIU.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board found that the overpayment of $2,860.00 in nonservice-connected pension benefits was validly created due to the appellant's failure to report his Social Security Administration income for the period from February to June 2002. The Board also determined that there was no indication of fraud, misrepresentation or bad faith on the part of the appellant, and thus denied the request for waiver of recovery.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including completing the occupational exposure to ionizing radiation claim and providing a statement of the case regarding dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the appellant was insane at the time of his offenses leading to his discharge under conditions other than honorable. The case will be returned for further action.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his request for the adaptive equipment for his van and his representative subsequently submitted a Motion to Withdraw Appeal.

The Veteran is granted a certificate of eligibility for specially adapted housing due to his service-connected disabilities, but not for the special home adaptation grant.

The Veteran's service-connected post traumatic encephalopathy, characterized by atypical headaches, is not manifested by objective evidence of impairment of his peripheral and autonomic systems. Therefore, the claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent has been denied.

The Board found that the February 2004 VA aorta-bifemoral bypass procedure did not cause additional disability, and thus denied the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to clarify the extent of the Veteran's Raynaud's phenomenon and determine if it is related to his military service.

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board finds no evidence to support presumptive service connection for his cause of death.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a shrapnel fragment wound to muscle group XIII of the left thigh are considered moderately disabling, with retention of a piece of shrapnel fragment in the medial condyle of the left femur and a few shrapnel fragments in the lateral posterior aspect of the lower portion of the left thigh. The Veteran's disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the appellant's net worth is a bar to receiving death pension benefits due to her having sufficient financial resources to meet her basic needs for several more years, even with increased costs over time.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a sleep disorder due to new and material evidence. However, the Veteran's current sleep disorder is not shown to have been caused by any incident of service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine if he is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for non-service-connected death pension benefits, as no new and material evidence was submitted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disorder, claimed as rash of the chest, arms, and back was denied. The Board found that his skin condition did not manifest during service or until after service, and thus could not be linked to service.