Other conditions decisions — 2010

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations. The Veteran is also seeking increased ratings for his right shoulder disability, cervical spine DDD, and bilateral inguinal hernia.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disability, specifically bronchial pneumonia, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and an examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence added since the last decision.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for legal entitlement to VA death benefits due to a lack of objective substantiation of qualifying service in the Philippine Commonwealth Army, which is required for VA benefits. The appeal was not about service connection.

The Veteran sustained additional disability in the form of a neurogenic bladder with sphincter damage, including symptoms of complete urinary incontinence, as a result of a May 2006 VA surgical procedure. The Board found that this condition was not due to any fault on the part of VA and is considered an event reasonably foreseeable.

The Veteran died at a private hospital and was buried in a private cemetery. The VA determined that the Veteran did not meet any of the criteria for an allowance, including being in receipt of pension or compensation benefits, having a pending claim, or dying while hospitalized by VA. Therefore, burial benefits were denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred on January 10, 2008 due to lack of evidence showing that VA facilities were not feasibly available and an attempt to use them beforehand would have been reasonable.

The Board has denied the appellant's attempt to reopen her claim for legal entitlement to VA death benefits due to a lack of new and material evidence, as confirmed by certifications from the service department indicating that the decedent had no recognized military service.

The Veteran's request for waiver of recovery of the overpayment in the amount of $34,009 was not timely filed and thus denied.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected gunshot wound to the left groin with injury to the femoral nerve is denied as his muscle disability is currently rated at 30 percent and there is no evidence of more severe symptoms warranting a higher rating.

The Board denied the appellant's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for sinus bradycardia and arrhythmia, finding that the evidence submitted was either duplicative or not material.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the Veteran requested withdrawal of the appeal in writing.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for a dental condition as due to trauma. The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining an examination and addressing specific questions regarding the Veteran's dental condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, a brainstem stroke with septicemia, was not related to his military service and specifically denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to incomplete service treatment records and to obtain an opinion regarding whether his respiratory disorder and loss of smell are related to his first period of military service or were aggravated by his second period.

The Veteran's dysthymia was rated at 30 percent prior to December 1, 2002 and from December 21, 2009. From December 1, 2002, to December 20, 2009, the rating was increased to 50 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected mitral insufficiency with a history of paroxysmal tachycardia is currently evaluated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that an evaluation in excess of this rating is not warranted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a right leg condition and an increased initial rating for cold injury to the left foot due to outstanding VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is not active or in a treatment phase, and therefore does not warrant a compensable rating.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a fractured right clavicle since March 10, 2009 is denied due to his failure to report for a VA examination scheduled in conjunction with the increased rating claim.