Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has determined that the appellant's discharge from service was under dishonorable conditions, and therefore constitutes a bar to VA benefits except for health care.

The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to new and material evidence. The independent medical opinion obtained by the Board concluded that the veteran's post-service alcohol and drug addiction were secondary to his service-connected anxiety neurosis, which contributed to his death.

The veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the laryngeal surface of the epiglottis is currently rated at 30 percent, and his T3 compression fracture with x-ray evidence of compression deformity is rated at 20 percent. The Board has determined that neither condition warrants a higher evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death was not incurred in, or aggravated by, his active service. The medical evidence did not show a direct link between his service-connected conditions and his fatal myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, due to acute ischemia and gangrene of foot.

The veteran's service-connected left thumb disability is rated at a 10 percent evaluation, effective November 6, 1995.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for a lung disability with abnormal chest x-ray findings, finding no objective medical evidence to substantiate the claim.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the veteran's award of individual unemployability based on clear and unmistakable error by the Regional Office in 1989, which failed to consider extraschedular entitlement under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).

The Board denied service connection for a skin disability, including as due to Agent Orange exposure, finding the claim not well-grounded.

The Board determined that a Workers' Compensation settlement payment should be considered countable income for nonservice connected pension purposes, leading to the reduction of pension benefits. The moving party argues this decision was erroneous and requests its reversal or revision on grounds of clear and unmistakable error.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of catarrhal fever and lymphangitis are not well-grounded. The evidence does not establish a current disability or link these conditions to service.

The Board found no evidence of a compensable dental disorder and denied the veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for monetary allowance to his child due to a disability resulting from spina bifida, finding that occipital encephalocele is not considered a form of spina bifida.

The veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for residuals of shell fragment wounds of the left forearm and elbow is granted. The effective date for a grant of a 100 percent disability evaluation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains pending as it relates to the timing of his informal claim.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the veteran's neck injury, finding no objective findings of intervertebral disc syndrome or limitation of cervical spine motion.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for prostatitis, finding that there was no current diagnosis of prostatitis and that his symptoms were better explained by benign prostatic hypertrophy.

The Board has determined that the veteran's thoracic outlet syndrome is related to his in-service back injury and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board finds that the veteran's service-connected residuals of a bone graft harvested from the left iliac crest region do not warrant a disability evaluation exceeding the current rating of 10 percent.

The Board denied a temporary total rating for convalescence following surgery to correct de Quervain's disease, finding no service-connected disability and denying the claim based on lack of entitlement under the law.

The veteran's claim for service connection and secondary service connection for a bilateral leg disability was denied as there is no medical evidence linking his current bilateral leg disability to his service-connected foot calluses.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to August 20, 1997 for a 10% disability rating for traumatic arthritis secondary to a shell fragment wound to the left knee. The effective date is set at August 20, 1997.