Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has determined that the reduction of the veteran's disability rating from 30 percent to 10 percent for status post pilonidal cystectomy was proper, as evidenced by improvement in his condition.

The veteran's service does not meet the criteria for basic eligibility for nonservice-connected pension benefits due to lack of qualifying wartime service.

The Board found that the appellant's substantive appeal was not timely filed, and thus dismissed the appeal regarding legal entitlement to non-service connected death pension benefits.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for additional benefits for her adopted child, L.N.C., as he was not legally recognized as an adoptive child of the veteran for VA purposes due to his age at adoption and the timing of the adoption decree.

The Board found that the veteran's left hip disability did not manifest during service and is not related to his active service. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has denied service connection for otitis externa and media due to lack of current diagnosis. The claims for reopening service connection for headaches and acne have not been considered as the new evidence is deemed insufficient to reopen these claims.

The Board found that the appellant did not submit new and material evidence to reopen his previously denied claim for nonservice-connected disability pension benefits.

The Board found that the overpayment of Montgomery GI Bill benefits in the amount of $750.01 was properly created, and thus denied the appeal.

The Board has granted the appellant's request to reopen her cause of death service connection claim, as new and material evidence has been presented. The claim will be remanded for further development regarding whether exposure to herbicides in Vietnam caused or contributed to the veteran's pancreatic cancer.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for VA benefits because her spouse's service with the Organized Defense Volunteers of the Central Pacific Area was not deemed active military service, and thus did not meet the criteria for basic eligibility for VA death benefits.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for residuals of a left leg injury was denied, as the current 30 percent rating is the maximum available under Diagnostic Code 5311. The heart condition claim was granted as secondary to service-connected left leg disability.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral elbow disorder and entitlement to a permanent and total rating for non-service connected pension purposes were denied as the veteran failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.

The Board found that the veteran's right hand disability is not secondary to his service-connected traumatic arthritis of the right 2nd and 3rd fingers, and thus denied an increased rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for anemia and a compensable evaluation for his left elbow scar, finding that neither condition was incurred in or aggravated by active duty service.

The veteran's left knee degenerative joint disease has been rated at 10 percent prior to February 13, 2006 and at 40 percent from that date forward. The claim for an increased evaluation for subluxation of the left knee was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, finding that there was no evidence linking his death to active military service or any service-connected disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of reopening his previously denied service connection for residuals of an injury to back, hip, and leg, including right-sided numbness. The new evidence submitted did not provide a significant link between these conditions and his active service.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a compression fracture of the 7th dorsal (thoracic) vertebra are currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board found that this rating adequately reflects his disability.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected atrial fibrillation with cardioversion warrants a 10 percent rating effective from April 10, 2007. The current condition does not meet criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for Churg-Strauss syndrome as secondary to his service-connected asbestosis.