Other conditions Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for her service-connected residuals of a fracture at L1 is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's cutaneous leishmaniasis is manifested by subjective complaints of occasional itching, with no manifestations of deep scars causing limited motion, and affects less than 20 percent of the exposed areas and entire body. The criteria for a higher initial rating are not met.

The Board is remanding the case for further development to determine if the appellant and her children received any benefits following the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and arthritis or degenerative joint disease did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year of separation from service.

The Veteran developed damage to her right upper extremity as a result of the July 17, 2007, VA surgery. The medical evidence does not indicate negligence or fault on the part of VA in performing the surgery.

The Veteran's death was attributed to acute leukemia. The appeal is about whether his service-connected bone marrow disorder, linked to Agent Orange exposure, contributed to or accelerated the development of leukemia.

The Board has denied the appellant's request for an earlier effective date of July 22, 2004 for the award of service connection for cause of the Veteran's death due to a lack of entitlement under the law.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a video conference hearing as requested. The case will be handled by the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC).

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is competent to handle his own VA funds without limitation.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluation of his right hand disability and compensable evaluation for the scar, mid-left thigh donor site were denied. The RO found that the current evaluations did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine if the Veteran's death was caused or contributed to by a service-connected condition, and to provide adequate VCAA notice.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred from June 13 to 15, 2008, at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center in Fort Meyer, Florida is denied as he does not have any adjudicated service-connected disabilities and the transfer to a VA facility was deemed medically safe.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further evaluation of his chronic bilateral knee disorder, including arthritis and retropatellar pain syndrome. The case will be reconsidered with consideration of the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1154(b) and Allen v. Brown.

The Board found that the Veteran's overpayment of VA educational assistance benefits was valid, based on investigations revealing a fraud scheme perpetuated by sixty Veterans enrolled at Ramon Magsaysay University.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining an opinion regarding the relationship between his laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and service, as well as evaluating the severity of his service-connected excision of left vocal cord, benign nodule.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected bilateral loss of vision is denied as the disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA's schedular guidelines.

The Veteran's neck injury was granted service connection, but the disability is rated at 10 percent and no higher based on current criteria.

The Board denied an extraschedular rating for the veteran's residuals of a right fourth finger fracture, finding that the schedular evaluation adequately contemplates his level of disability and symptomatology. The case was not referred to the Director of Compensation and Pension Service due to lack of evidence supporting employment difficulties or frequent hospitalizations.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of a fractured left distal fibula are manifested by subjective complaints of pain and ankle dorsiflexion limited to 5 degrees. The Board finds that the criteria for a disability evaluation of 10 percent have been met.