Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete records, particularly those from Social Security Administration (SSA). The Veteran's left knee disability remains under appeal.

The Veteran's service-connected shell fragment wound of the left leg, Muscle Group XI, is manifested by a moderately severe injury with symptoms including chipping of the tibia bone and some loss of soft tissue. The disability does not meet or approximate criteria for a higher evaluation.

The VA examiner found that the Veteran's current sinus problems are not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current pulmonary disorders were not incurred in or aggravated by military service and do not qualify for presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure. The claim is denied.

The Veteran's claim for educational assistance benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill is denied as he did not serve at least three years of continuous active duty.

The Board has determined that the appellant's skin condition of the right thumb had its inception during active service and is therefore granted service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of cold weather injuries of the right and left hands are currently rated at 20 percent each, but do not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under the applicable rating criteria.

The Board found that the appellant did not file a timely substantive appeal regarding the March 31, 2008 rating decision denying service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The issue of whether her countable income is a bar to death pension benefits was also addressed and remanded.

The Veteran's residuals of a left thigh fracture due to a gunshot wound are not productive of flexion limited to 10 degrees or ankylosis, and thus the claim for an increased rating is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disorder is related to her active service and granted service connection, assigning a non-compensable rating.

The Veteran's current bilateral lower extremity varicosities are considered to have been incurred during his active military service.

The VA treatment in November 2006 did not cause the Veteran's right quadriceps tear, and there is no evidence of fault on the part of the VA. Therefore, the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected Tietze's Syndrome (costochondritis) does not cause limitation of motion or any respiratory impairment, and therefore the current 10 percent rating is appropriate.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased evaluation of his service-connected orchalgia and orchiopexy was dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal for TDIU. The case is now remanded for additional development including VA examinations, employment information gathering, and consideration of extraschedular evaluation.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining his vocational rehabilitation folder and affording him a VA examination to determine the effect of his service-connected disability on his employability.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic constipation, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's treatment at Freeman Hospital from June 11 to June 20, 2008 was deemed an emergency due to his severe stroke symptoms. The Board found that a prudent layperson would have reasonably viewed the visit as an emergency and that delaying immediate medical attention would have been hazardous to life or health.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to a monetary allowance under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1805 for an individual suffering from spina bifida whose father is a Vietnam veteran, and the appellant meets the criteria for such benefits.

The Board found that the appellant did not meet the requirements to be recognized as the surviving spouse of the Veteran for VA death pension benefits due to her living with another person after the Veteran's death and holding herself out publicly as their spouse.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right and left proximal femur stress fracture residuals were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The claim to reopen the hip disability previously characterized as pelvic pain and abductor tendonitis of the skeletal system was also denied due to lack of new and material evidence.