Other conditions decisions — 2020

The Board has decided that the appellant's service connection claim for Crohn's disease is remanded due to incomplete records. The case will be reviewed again after obtaining relevant ROTC records.

The Board denied service connection for all four of the Veteran's claimed leg and foot conditions, finding that there was no current disability or in-service incurrence/aggravation.

The Veteran's service-connected reactive arthritis prior to April 6, 2016 is not rated higher than 20 percent.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for cold injury residuals of the bilateral feet and hands based on new evidence submitted by the Veteran. However, these issues are being remanded to allow for further development and consideration.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) is a chronic B-cell leukemia, which would be presumptively related to herbicide exposure. The appellant must provide additional evidence and the VA will obtain an independent medical opinion from an oncologist.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as the evidence did not show persistent edema or stasis pigmentation in his left leg, and there was no indication of a compensable limitation of motion for his partial tear of the left biceps tendon.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right lower achilles tendonitis, as well as left and right shin splints. The appeal is being returned to the RO for additional development including obtaining VA treatment records from specific dates and scheduling new examinations.

The Veteran's service connection claim for left foot hammer toe condition is granted. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s left foot hammer toes were caused by inadequate footwear during his military service.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death, and the case is not about service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral shin splints, finding that the Veteran's in-service injury never fully healed and became a chronic condition.

The Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa and associated scars have been granted initial evaluations, with the most recent evaluation being a 60 percent rating since July 5, 2018. The TDIU claim is also remanded.

The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his left leg varicose veins disability was granted, with the effective date being January 10, 2020. The current rating is 40 percent.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of inclusion body myositis was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for left-hand and right-hand disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for prostate hypertrophy was dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to their death. The Board cannot proceed with the merits of this case as it is no longer relevant.

The Veteran's claim for Chapter 30 educational assistance benefits was denied as he did not meet the basic eligibility requirements and there is no evidence of alternative eligibility under other provisions.

The Board found that VA properly counted the Veteran's income in determining his entitlement to non-service-connected disability pension benefits, reducing his benefits as of November 1, 2017. The appeal is denied.

The Veteran's increased rating claims for his right and left knee disabilities have been denied. The RO granted a combined rating of 60 percent, with separate ratings for limited flexion (20%), instability (20%), and extension limitation (30%).