Other conditions decisions — 2019

The Veteran's residual shell fragment wound left thigh is rated at a maximum of 20 percent, effective February 16, 2011.

The Veteran's disability rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent, effective June 1, 2015. The reduction was granted as there was no evidence of improvement in her condition.

The appeal of the Veteran's entitlement to individual unemployability has been dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital from April 24, 2018, to May 4, 2018, are granted as the treatment was deemed necessary due to an emergency and VA facilities were not feasibly available.

The Board has ordered the RO to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the appellant was insane at the time of his misconduct, which led to his discharge under other than honorable conditions. The case is being remanded for further examination and evaluation.

The Veteran's current traumatic arthritis in the left elbow is granted as service connected due to continuous symptoms since service separation, meeting the criteria for presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b).

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for liver disability, loss of teeth due to radiation exposure, and blood disorder due to radiation exposure. The claims were all found to lack new and material evidence.,No specific rating was assigned as none of the claims were granted.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete records and the need for a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's bronchiectasis increased in severity during service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a personality disorder, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the previously denied claim.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of September 1, 2015, for the addition of his current spouse C.O. to her list of dependents for additional compensation due to recognition of their marriage.

The Veteran's initial rating for left popliteal artery aneurysm, also claimed as edema, is granted at a 20 percent level effective June 30, 2015. The issue of entitlement to TDIU on an extraschedular basis is remanded.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded due to incomplete consideration of the Veteran's offer to compromise the debt and because the SSOC did not address the validity of the debt.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a jaw disorder, finding no evidence of a current disability and insufficient competent medical evidence to establish a link between his military service and any present condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the cause of death and the potential impact of herbicide exposure on the Veteran's condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental disability for VA compensation benefits is denied as he does not have a compensable dental disorder.

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran incurred additional disabilities due to VA treatment in July 2008, and if so, whether it was caused by fault on the part of VA or an event not reasonably foreseeable.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's colorectal cancer is related to his asbestos exposure during service. The examiner must consider the possible relationship between gastrointestinal cancers and asbestos exposure, as recognized by VA’s Manual.

The Veteran's scoliosis deformity of the spine was granted an initial rating of 20 percent, effective October 6, 2016. The Board found that this condition warranted a 20 percent disability rating based on normal range of motion and no associated neurological abnormalities.

The Veteran's right eye blindness is rated at 30 percent, the highest possible rating under VA regulations. The Board found that anatomical loss of the right eye was not present and thus denied a higher disability rating.