Other conditions decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of the claim for service connection for cause of death, including a dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health and review by the Under Secretary for Benefits.

The Board has granted an initial rating of 40 percent for post-operative peptic ulcer disease with dumping syndrome, and has also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability.

The Veteran's daughter is eligible for retroactive Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits as of the date of his death, August [redacted], 2004.

The Veteran's death was not service-connected, but burial benefits were granted due to the Veteran being interred in a national cemetery.

The Veteran's skin disorder is presumed to be due to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The February 1949 rating decision did not grant a separate 10% disability rating for myositis of each leg, as the Veteran's knee joints were unaffected by his condition. The claim was denied.

The Board found that the appellant's OTH discharge from military service is a bar to VA benefits, and denied his claim.

The Veteran's residuals of fracture to the distal fifth metacarpal on the right hand were not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar instance of fault.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for basic eligibility to VA benefits, including non-service connected pension benefits due to a lack of service as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army in the United States Armed Forces.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a contusion to the right hand are currently rated as noncompensable, with no evidence of favorable or unfavorable ankylosis. The Board finds that he is not entitled to a compensable evaluation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's income for 2006 exceeded the threshold for eligibility for cost-free VA health care, and thus denied his claim for treatment without a copayment requirement beginning August 14, 2007.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and lack of clarity in determining whether a prudent layperson would consider the Veteran's situation emergent at the time she sought treatment.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is productive of pain, tenderness, spasm, and paresthesias comparable to pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome. The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability more nearly approximates the criteria for a 60 percent rating under the former Diagnostic Code 5293.

The Board has determined that the evidence supports the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hammer toe deformity and painful calluses of the left foot, with resolution of reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and an expert opinion regarding whether his right foot disability was aggravated by VA treatment and/or two surgeries in 1997.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have qualifying service for the one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, and therefore denied legal entitlement to this benefit.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's multiple joint arthritis is not related to his service-connected residuals of rheumatic fever and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for a VA examination to determine if there is at least a 50 percent probability or greater that the Veteran has any gynecological disorder as a result of service.

The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the right vocal cord, characterized as hoarseness, has not resulted in thickening or nodules on the cords, polyps, submucous infiltration, or pre-malignant changes on biopsy. Therefore, he is not entitled to a rating higher than 10 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for a skin rash, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his in-service exposure and resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.