Other conditions Board decisions

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for residuals of funiculitis surgery, left side, manifested by a painful scar and stump of the left spermatic cord was denied as his condition did not warrant a higher evaluation.

The veteran died from cardiopulmonary arrest due to aspiration pneumonia. His claims for service connection and nonservice-connected pension were denied, but he did not have any pending claims at the time of his death. Therefore, accrued benefits cannot be granted.

The Board has ordered the RO to request VA clinical documentation from the East Orange, New Jersey VAMC for the period prior to January 10, 1991. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Board has determined that the veteran's visual disorders, including cataracts and myopic shift, are not service-connected. The hyperopia in service was a refractive error, and the cataracts were not related to active service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic bilateral vision disorder, including bilateral cortical blindness due to a bioccipital infarction, was not incurred during active service and may not be presumed to have been incurred during such service. Therefore, service connection is denied.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a gastrointestinal disorder that was incurred in or aggravated by his service and denied his claim of entitlement to service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder.

The Board denied the appellant's claim as her request for a waiver of overpayment was not timely filed.

The Board granted an increased rating of 40 percent for the service-connected spondylolisthesis, postoperative.

The Board found that the overpayment of $1,941 was not solely due to VA administrative error and granted waiver of recovery.

The Board found that the veteran's right eye disability, evaluated at 30 percent, does not warrant an increased evaluation. The claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability was also denied due to lack of sufficient evidence supporting his unemployability.

The Board denied increased evaluations for the veteran's service-connected gunshot wound injuries to his left arm, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA rating criteria.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected hiatal hernia with gastritis, as his condition did not warrant a higher rating based on the symptoms described.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete records from the Naval Sea Systems Command.

The veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death, metastatic esophageal carcinoma, was incurred while in service due to exposure to Agent Orange. As a result, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for dysthymic disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a diagnosis within one year after discharge and concluding that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim.

The case is being returned to the VAMC for further development and re-adjudication of the issue regarding reimbursement or payment of unauthorized medical expenses incurred by the veteran between October 2, 2001 and October 22, 2001.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hiatal hernia, which was initially granted service connection for in October 1995 and rated at 10 percent disabling effective September 21, 1995, does not warrant a higher rating based on his symptoms since then.

The Board denied service connection for multi-level spinal disc degeneration with a neurogenic bladder and an increased rating for residuals of an ingrown right great toenail and removal of the toenail.

The VA determined that the veteran's right ring finger amputation with nail deformity did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation since June 17, 2002.