Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for service connection, increased PTSD rating, and hearing loss are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions.

The Board has determined that the appellant is entitled to a monetary allowance under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1805 for spina bifida, as he is the child of a Vietnam veteran and suffers from this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The appeal has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal prior to a decision being made.

The appellant is not eligible for VA death benefits, to include Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and death pension due to the lack of legal basis.

The Board has granted service connection for memory loss and urticaria as due to an undiagnosed illness, both claimed as symptoms of a chronic medically unexplained multi-symptom illness, under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.317.

The Board found that the appellant's current degenerative joint disease of the back is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an apportionment of the Veteran's VA compensation benefits due to a lack of entitlement under the law, as she is no longer the Veteran's spouse.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining records of his hospitalization and treatment since June 2009, as well as scheduling a VA heart examination to assess the current severity of his hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for congestive heart failure, which he claims is secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board has determined that this claim is inextricably intertwined with the issue of whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's claim for dependency status for his step-children, C.B. and A.B., was denied as there is no evidence that they are the legitimate or adopted children of the Veteran or his deceased wife.

The Board found that the Veteran's left hip disorder and gastrointestinal condition were not incurred or aggravated by active military service, nor are they secondary to a service-connected disability. The rating for his back injury remains at 40%.

The Veteran's service-connected heloma molle, interspace between left fourth and fifth toes, is currently rated at 10 percent under the old criteria. The Board has determined that this rating is appropriate based on the symptoms described.

The Board found that the appellant's claimed residuals of his February 9, 2005 surgery were not caused or aggravated by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or foreseeable event.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his defective vision and skull fracture have been granted.

The Veteran's bilateral eye disability is manifested by corrected visual acuity of 20/25 bilaterally, and the Board finds that a 10 percent rating for active chronic BP is warranted.

The Board has granted service connection for schizoaffective disorder and failed back syndrome, finding that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service. The claim for numbness of the lower extremities remains pending.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a liver disability was denied as there is no current evidence of such a condition. The claim for an increased rating for postoperative left knee injury with arthroscopy and partial meniscectomy remains pending.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating than the current 30 percent assigned.

The Board found that the Veteran's lung disorder is not service-connected, as there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and his military service.