Other conditions decisions — 2009

The Board found that the Veteran's condition was an emergency requiring immediate attention and could not have been safely discharged or transferred to a VA facility. The appeal is granted.

The Board has remanded the case due to a request for a videoconference hearing, and no specific details about service connection are provided.

The Veteran's overpayment of VA compensation benefits was created due to his incarceration and the resulting reduction in his compensation payments. The Board found that the debt is valid, but denied a waiver of recovery as the fault of the debtor (the Veteran) outweighs any potential undue hardship or bad faith on the part of VA.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for post-herpetic neuralgia and herpes zoster ophthalmicus was denied, as the maximum schedular rating has been assigned. The claim to reopen a service connection for a bilateral foot disorder is granted due to new evidence submitted.

The Veteran's request for a waiver of overpayment of $9,030 in pension benefits was denied. The Board has ordered the case back to the RO for further action due to the Veteran not attending his scheduled hearing.

The Veteran's post-operative residuals of a Bennett's fracture of the right thumb with medial nerve involvement are productive of severe incomplete paralysis, warranting a 50% rating.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for VA death benefits due to her age and marital status, finding she did not meet the eligibility requirements for such benefits.

The Veteran is not entitled to VA dental treatment due to a non-service-connected dental disorder.

The Veteran's overpayment of VA improved pension benefits in the amount of $6,962 was properly created. The Board found that the income earned by the Veteran from Christian County Enterprises Inc. for the period from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2005, should be included in calculating his VA improved pension benefits.

The Veteran's claims for allergies, bilateral lower extremities bad circulation condition, hand tremors, and infertility were denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a relationship to service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verification of the appellant's deceased spouse's World War II service and consideration of new evidence.

The appellant is not the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA purposes and therefore, is ineligible for non-service connected death pension benefits.

The Veteran seeks service connection for Crohn's disease with ulcerative colitis, which he attributes to his service-connected disabilities. The Board finds that an additional medical opinion is needed to determine if the current condition is aggravated by his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as she does not qualify for an extension of the basic period of eligibility for vocational rehabilitation and employment services.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's numbness of the left lower lip is not due to a VA biopsy performed in June 2002, and therefore, the criteria for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are not met.

The VA has denied the appellant's claim to reopen her service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the Veteran's claim for service connection for essential tremors due to his active duty service. The Veteran contends that he developed essential tremors as a result of exposure to pesticides while serving on board USS Ranger from 1970 to 1972, but there are no records indicating such exposure. A VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran currently has a tremor disability and whether it was incurred in or aggravated by his active duty.

The appellant's spouse did not have qualifying service in the armed forces of the United States, and thus does not meet the minimum service requirements for VA benefits.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's claimed muscle spasms, finding that they are part of a medically unexplained multisymptom illness such as fibromyalgia and incurred during his Persian Gulf service.

The Veteran's service-connected traumatic chorioretinitis, left macula with constriction visual field to 15 degrees, is not manifested by anatomical loss of the eye nor is it enucleated or has a serious cosmetic defect; right eye corrected visual acuity is 20/20. The criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent have not been met prior to December 10, 2008.