Other conditions Board decisions

The Board denied the appellant's claims for VA benefits as the deceased veteran's child and for accrued benefits due to lack of legal merit.

The veteran's appeal for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized non-VA expenses incurred at Munroe Regional Medical Center during an emergency room visit on March 4, 2001 is dismissed as she has withdrawn her appeal.

The Board found that the appellant and the veteran were legally divorced in June 1959, and thus did not meet the requirements to be recognized as the surviving spouse for VA death benefits.

The appellant forfeited eligibility for VA benefits due to submitting false information in her August 2000 application for death pension benefits, which listed a child as her dependent.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death due to an ulcer, finding no new and material evidence presented since the May 1997 decision.

The Board has granted a 40 percent disability rating for the appellant's service-connected right hand disability, characterized as amputation of middle and ring fingers. The ratings for the moderately severe muscle group XX wound in the right arm and moderate wound muscle group V in the right arm remain unchanged.

The Board found no evidence that the veteran's gastritis or ulcerative colitis were caused by her service-connected back disability, and denied her claims for secondary service connection.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the death of the veteran prior to issuance of the Board decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran's respiratory disorder, diagnosed as asthma, is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected sinusitis and therefore grants service connection for this condition on a secondary basis.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a fracture of the left forearm due to new and material evidence submitted since the last denial in October 1986.

The October 1968 rating decision did not grant special monthly compensation for loss of use of the left foot due to the veteran's service-connected amputations, as the medical records at that time did not support such a determination.

The Board found no chronic respiratory disability or emphysema was incurred in service and denied the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for reopening his claim for residuals of a fracture of the left great toe and for an increased rating for service-connected seventh (facial) cranial nerve paralysis affecting the left side of the face.

The Board has found that the veteran's service-connected residuals of a nondisplaced fracture of the left ilium result in no more than slight knee or hip disability, and thus does not warrant a rating higher than the current 10 percent.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected chronic right epididymitis, finding that there was no evidence of recurrent symptomatic urinary tract infections requiring drainage and frequent hospitalization or complete atrophy of both testes.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic pancreatitis, which began during his period of service, is a result of an in-service event and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially or materially contributed to by a disability of service origin, and denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has waived the overpayment of $1,108.50 due to undue economic hardship and the VA's fault in not promptly reducing the veteran's benefits upon notification of his incarceration.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for genital warts and an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for thoracic spine disability, finding no current diagnosis of genital warts and noting that the veteran's thoracic spine disability was currently rated at its maximum allowable level.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed right hip and left hip arthralgias are manifestations of a lumbar spine disability, specifically a protrusion at L4-L5 vertebral level. These conditions are not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right foot disorder.