Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has granted separate initial disability evaluations of 10 percent for both right and left orchialgia disabilities, based on the severity of the veteran's symptoms.

The Board dismissed an issue regarding whether a timely appeal was filed for the November 1969 rating decision denying DIC as the unremarried widow of the veteran. The Board found that no jurisdiction existed to consider this issue.

The Board denied a compensable evaluation for the veteran's post-operative left inguinal hernia repair, finding that there was no evidence of recurrence or abnormal symptoms.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of competent evidence linking his current skin rash and undiagnosed illness to service. The symptoms were attributed to known diagnoses such as tinea cruris, seasonal dermatitis, folliculitis, and nummular eczema.

The Board has granted service connection for nonspecific urethritis but denied an increased rating.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) found that the appellant's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected post-operative residuals of a herniated disc at L4, L5, on the left was well grounded. The BVA noted that VARO had previously granted an increased rating from 20 to 40 percent disabling effective as of November 17, 1997. However, further development is needed due to lack of differentiation between service-connected and nonservice-connected residuals.

The Board has not decided the claims related to service connection for prostatitis and urinary tract infection, but has denied reopening of a previously denied claim for a respiratory disability due to cigarette smoking. The issues are considered inextricably intertwined with the main appeal.

The Board denied an increased rating for peptic ulcer disease but granted a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's mood disorder. The decision is mixed as it addresses both conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for spondylolisthesis, L5-S1, status post laminectomy. The veteran is eligible to receive attorney fees from past-due benefits based on this decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran's deep vein thrombosis, right leg with residual pain, swelling, and pigmentation does not warrant an increased rating as it currently meets a 10% disability evaluation under Diagnostic Code 7121.

The veteran's right arm and hand weakness and numbness are deemed to be a result of the August 1994 VA surgery, which resulted in additional disability.

The Board found that the veteran did not file an adequate substantive appeal for his claims of entitlement to service connection for a left hand disorder as secondary to service-connected postoperative residuals of a left shoulder dislocation and entitlement to TDIU. As such, the Board lacks jurisdiction to consider these issues.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected left index finger laceration and pneumothorax disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support ratings in excess of 10 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of fraud, misrepresentation or bad faith in the creation of the loan guaranty indebtedness. The decision to waive recovery of the debt was granted based on considerations of equity and good conscience.

The VA denied a compensable rating for post-surgical residuals of a pilonidal cyst of the lower back since March 24, 1993 due to lack of objective evidence of any current functional impairment.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for numbness of the left leg and foot, as well as his claim for service connection for bilateral eye disability due to mustard gas exposure. The reasons are that there is no evidence linking these conditions to service or any recognized exposure basis.

The VA has already assigned a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's PTSD, which is the maximum rating available under current criteria. The Board finds that the veteran does not meet the criteria for an increased evaluation.

The veteran's prostate disorder is not service connected. His missing teeth and periodontal disease are service connected, but his arthritis of the left ankle and hemorrhoids do not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board found that the overpayment in the amount of $10,500 was properly created due to the appellant's failure to notify VA of her change in marital status and divorce from the veteran.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1 with arthritis, effective from September 1996.