Other conditions decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case due to a scheduling issue for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO. The Veteran's actual residence is in Puerto Rico, and he needs to be scheduled at his preferred location.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected acoustic neuroma contributed to his death from subarachnoid hemorrhage due to bacterial meningitis. The appeal is granted.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred at Providence Hospital from December 28, 2007 to December 31, 2007 was denied as VA facilities were available and the appellant did not provide prior authorization.

The Board found that the Veteran's generalized arthralgia of the body was not present in service or for many years thereafter, and is not etiologically related to service. The claim for a chronic headache disorder (claimed as headaches) has been remanded.

The Veteran's prostate cancer, which caused his death, was not service-connected and there is no evidence of exposure to herbicides or other presumed exposures during service.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant, and no jurisdiction remains for adjudicating the merits of these claims.

The Board has determined that the appellant's character of discharge from service is a bar to VA benefits, as his offenses were considered willful and persistent misconduct.

The Veteran's service connection claim for arthritis of the right index finger is granted. The Board finds that osteoarthritis of the DIP joint of the right index finger was incurred in service and therefore service connection is warranted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's testicular disability, including chronic testicular pain associated with epididymitis, had its onset during service and is therefore granted service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's chronic pancreatitis did not become manifest during active service and is not etiologically related to service. The other claims were also denied as there was no evidence of a nexus between the claimed conditions and service.

The Board determined that the Veteran does not have a skin disorder that was incurred in or aggravated by his military service, including from exposure to Agent Orange.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for termination of her death pension benefits due to excessive income, finding that her countable income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate.

The Board found that the June 1954 rating decision terminating SMC for loss of use of the right foot was not the product of clear and unmistakable error (CUE). The Veteran's contentions were based on his belief that he had loss of use of the right foot, but the evidence at the time did not support this conclusion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right arm disability, finding that there is no current diagnosis of such a condition and insufficient evidence to link any potential current disability to his in-service injury.

The Veteran's Crohn's Disease with sclerosing cholangitis is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher 60 percent rating is warranted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for his service-connected chondromalacia patella of the right knee, finding that the evidence did not support such an increase.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for calluses and bunions of the right and left feet, with claw toe deformity, were denied by the RO. The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional evidence and a VA examination.

The Board has ordered additional development of the Veteran's post-service treatment records and a VA examination to determine if his chronic interstitial lung disease is related to service. The appeal will be remanded for these actions.

The Board denied an extraschedular evaluation for otitis media as the evidence did not show an exceptional or unusual disability picture that rendered impractical the application of the regular schedular standards.

The Veteran's pulmonary interstitial fibrosis began many years after service and was not caused by any incident of service, including alleged asbestos exposure in service.