Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for squamous cell carcinoma. The Board finds that his initial claim was denied in January 2007, and reopening occurred on October 4, 2010. As such, the earliest effective date is October 4, 2010.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise, and affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, finding there is medical evidence establishing a link between his asbestos exposure in service and his residuals of colon cancer. Therefore, the claim for service connection for residuals of colon cancer is granted.

The Veteran does not have a current peptic ulcer condition and the residuals of his 1972 surgery are not related to service or an incident of service origin. Therefore, service connection for a peptic ulcer condition is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination and issuance of an SOC addressing the issue of her ilioinguinal nerve condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's post-concussive syndrome and cognitive disorder are related to his head injuries sustained during service, warranting service connection.

The Veteran's claimed heart conditions are not service connected as they do not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection based on exposure to Agent Orange. The VA examiners concluded that there is no link between his current condition and his in-service complaints or any other event during service.

The Board denied a request for an earlier effective date of June 27, 2011 for the grant of death pension with aid and attendance. The claim was initially denied in November 2008 but became final due to lack of new and material evidence within one year. The Appellant's son submitted new and material evidence on behalf of the Appellant in February 2012, leading to a decision granting the claim effective June 27, 2011.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for a right inguinal hernia as there was no evidence of a readily reducible and well-supported by truss or belt postoperative recurrent inguinal hernia.

The Veteran's residuals of eosinophilic granulomas of the lungs have been rated at 100% effective December 11, 2013, due to FVC less than 50 percent predicted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional information and evidence, including a VA examination for his bilateral hearing loss and an addendum opinion regarding his service connection claim for chronic pancreatitis. The claims will be reviewed again after the requested actions are completed.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a need for an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed bilateral upper extremity disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not attributable to service or any incident of service. The evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have recognized service in the Philippine Commonwealth Army or as a guerrilla with the United States Armed Forces, and thus is denied entitlement to one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.

The Veteran's adjustment disorder with depressive features is currently rated at 50 percent, effective January 23, 2014.,The Veteran also has a claim for TDIU which was granted.

The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the bilateral ankles and hands, finding that it is related to active duty service.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is denied as he has no service-connected conditions.

The May 1998 rating decision denying service connection for CMT was found to contain clear and unmistakable error, while the denial of service connection for cavovarus deformities was not.,New evidence has been submitted that supports reopening the claim for cavovarus deformities of the bilateral feet as secondary to CMT.

The Veteran's service-connected foot and hand conditions have been granted initial compensable ratings of 10 percent each, effective October 31, 2003.

The Board found that the appellant was not recognized as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA benefits purposes due to a separation lasting from July 1997 to at least January 2000, which was deemed by the Veteran's testimony and other evidence to be caused by the appellant's desertion.

The Board denied service connection for testicular cancer and a back disability. The Veteran's testicular cancer was not linked to his active duty service, while the back disability is considered unrelated to his military service.