Other conditions decisions — 2010

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's GI cancer with liver metastasis and resulting liver cancer, finding that it is at least as likely as not caused by Agent Orange exposure during his Vietnam service.

The Veteran does not have hearing loss that meets the VA criteria for a disability, and therefore his claim of service connection for hearing loss is denied.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the Veteran's service connection claim for a bilateral foot disorder. The Veteran was denied service connection because his preexisting foot condition did not worsen during military service.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 30 percent disability rating for his right distal fibula and talus fracture with traumatic arthritis was denied as there was no evidence of an increase in severity within the year prior to his May 15, 2007 claim.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's service connection claim for residuals of bilateral hip replacement and remanded it for further development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling an examination to determine the etiology of his current hip disabilities.

The appellant's claim for accrued benefits was denied as the Veteran had no pending claims at the time of his death and her application was filed more than one year after his death.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's motion for revision of the October 2007 decision denying SMC benefits due to loss of use of a lower extremity on the basis that it is not within their jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of such a CUE motion.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA benefits purposes due to lack of marriage at the time of his death. New evidence received since the last denial does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to reopen his claim for non-service-connected disability pension benefits, finding that new and material evidence did not exist to support the reopening of the claim.

The Veteran seeks service connection for an aortic aneurysm that she claims is due to her service-connected hypertension. The Board has determined that the case should be remanded for further development, including a VA examination.

The Veteran's dental disability is not a disorder for which service connection can be granted for compensation purposes.

The Veteran's sternum instability is not deemed to be due to VA carelessness, negligence or similar fault. The Board finds that the disability was a foreseeable complication of his coronary artery bypass grafting procedure.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for residuals of fracture of proximal phalanx of the right thumb, post operative pilondial cyst, and sebaceous cyst of the left cheek were denied as there is no evidence showing a gap between the thumb pad and fingers or any deep scars exceeding 6 square inches.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's Reiter's syndrome, also diagnosed as reactive arthritis, was incurred during service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain additional medical records and determine if further attempts to locate these records would be futile. The Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary disability will be reconsidered based on de novo review.

The Veteran's service connection claims for cold injury residuals are granted, including for a dermatological disorder with scaling and flaking skin on the ears and hands, as well as arthritis in multiple joints, to include in the neck, hands, fingers, and feet, with status post right total knee replacement.

The Board has remanded the case due to questions regarding the appellant's standing as the Veteran's surviving spouse. The claims will be reconsidered based on any additional evidence.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining information about Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits received by the appellant during a specific time period.

The Board determined that the Veteran's currently claimed back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and arthritis of the back may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded to obtain additional VA treatment records and to schedule him for a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected residuals of a white matter infarct. The case will be reviewed again in light of all evidence.