Other conditions decisions — 2011

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a left eye injury, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is being remanded due to the need for additional VA and private treatment records.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a left foot injury is being remanded due to missing service treatment records and the need for an examination.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a more contemporaneous examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected arthritis, left index finger with left index mallet deformity. The RO should also consider whether this claim meets the criteria for submission for extra-schedular consideration.

The Board has determined that further development is required before the appeal can be adjudicated, including scheduling a DRO hearing for the appellant and determining if VA received any correspondence from the Veteran prior to his death. The case will then be remanded for de novo consideration of the issue of entitlement to SMC based on aid and attendance for accrued benefits purposes.

The Board has determined that an effective date earlier than June 23, 2006 for the assignment of a 10 percent rating for service-connected bilateral postoperative inguinal hernias is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine disability did not manifest during or as a result of active military service and is not secondary to any other service-connected condition. The claim for increased evaluation was also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's employment, which he has maintained since June 2008, exceeded the poverty threshold and was not marginal. Therefore, the criteria for restoration of a TDIU were not met.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed as a result.

The Veteran's varicose veins were rated at 40 percent for each lower extremity, effective March 19, 2009.

The Board has remanded the case for another VA orthopedic examination to determine if any current neck/cervical spine disability is related to service, including a 1989 complaint and a 1991 car accident. The Veteran's lay statements and medical records will be considered in this decision.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and need for a VA psychiatrist's opinion on the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the current VA examination for the appellant's hip disabilities is not sufficiently contemporaneous to determine their current status, and therefore a new VA examination is needed.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected residuals of a shrapnel wound to the left posterior thigh, involving Muscle Group XVII, are manifested by no more than a moderate muscle injury and does not warrant an evaluation in excess of 20 percent.

The Board found no evidence of arthritis in service or within one year after discharge, and concluded that the current arthritis is not related to service. The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis was denied.

The Board has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to obtain additional information and evidence related to a fraud scheme at Ramon Magsaysay Technological University in the Philippines, which resulted in an overpayment of VA educational assistance benefits. The Veteran's case is now remanded for further review.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA death pension purposes cannot be granted due to a final denial in 2002 and lack of evidence establishing continuous marriage after the divorce. The daughter's status as an 'helpless child' was also denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasons and basis for finding no additional functional impairment of the Veteran's mastication other than his jaw pain, as recommended by a VA examiner in October 2004. The Veteran needs to be examined by an oral surgeon to determine the extent and severity of all residuals of his mandibular dysfunction.

The Veteran's service-connected herniated disc at L4-5 did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation, as it was not productive of limitation of motion or incapacitating episodes.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's foot and leg ulcers, as well as his status-post amputations of the left toes. The appeal will be returned to the AMC for further review.