Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for additional educational assistance benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is denied as she has already used up her entitlement to such benefits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hand arthritis, unspecified type, is related to his service and grants this claim.

The Board found that the evidence submitted since the April 2007 rating decision is cumulative and does not provide new or material evidence to reopen the claim of service connection for nasopharyngeal cancer due to Agent Orange exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's duodenal ulcer or peptic ulcer disease was incurred in service due to aggravation, and thus granted service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and readjudication due to inconsistencies in the explanation of qualifying service periods.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not make an irrevocable election for education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill program in lieu of benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill program, thus granting the appeal.

The Veteran's request for waiver of overpayment of VA education benefits was denied. The Board found that recovery of the overpayment would not be against equity and good conscience, but also noted that the Veteran did not change her position to her detriment.

The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for right and left lower extremity peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy were denied as the carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill or error in judgment on the part of VA was not demonstrated.

The Veteran's service-connected post-operative residuals of the index finger and ring finger of the left hand are currently rated as 10 percent disabling, but no higher. The rating is based on limitation of motion due to pain, weakness, and reduced grip strength.

The Veteran's follicular lymphoma was not incurred or aggravated by service, including exposure to ionizing radiation or occupational exposure to gasoline and petroleum products. The Board found no evidence supporting these claims.

The Veteran's vascular disability is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by his service-connected right ankle and knee disabilities. The Board finds that the March 2008 VA medical opinion constitutes probative evidence against the Veteran's claim.

The Board determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was not related to any service-connected disability, and therefore denied service connection for the cause of death. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 was also denied.

The VA determined that the Veteran's service-connected residuals of a ganglion cyst removal on the left foot cause moderate functional impairment, warranting a 10% disability rating.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for a 30 percent evaluation for his service-connected paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and flutter with first degree heart block, which was initially granted in July 1990. The RO has increased the evaluation to 30 percent as of April 30, 2007. The Veteran argues that the effective date should be based on his retirement from active duty.

The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has remanded the case due to a request for postponement of the hearing before the Board at the RO.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for death pension benefits, finding that no legal basis existed to grant such a request as her initial claim was not filed within one year of the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's skin disability is related to his service in Vietnam, specifically exposure to herbicides. The claim for service connection is granted.

The Veteran's increased rating for narcolepsy from 10 percent to 80 percent has been granted, effective October 17, 2006. However, the issues of service connection for left knee and shoulder disabilities remain unresolved.

The Board finds that the Veteran's skin cancer is likely due to exposure to ionizing radiation during his service in Japan, and grants service connection for the residuals of basal cell and basosquamous carcinomas of the right ear and basal cell carcinoma of the tip of the nose.