Other conditions Board decisions

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to evaluate his service-connected right foot disability.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a back injury was previously denied due to insufficient evidence. The Board has now remanded the case for further development and readjudication.

The veteran's income has exceeded the maximum annual pension rate for each year since he applied for non-service-connected (NSC) pension benefits, making him ineligible for NSC pension.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development and compliance with VA procedures, including providing proper notice regarding the reopening of claims.

The Board has determined that there is no competent evidence linking the veteran's right hip pain and degenerative hip disease to his service-connected back injury with disc disease and radicular neuropathy.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and consideration of his claim for an increased disability rating for status post bilateral orchiopexy for testalgia.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left hand multiple digit disability and initial evaluation for his left knee disability, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable diagnostic codes.

The VA determined that there is no evidence of ankylosis or other conditions warranting a higher evaluation for the veteran's right ring finger disability. The current noncompensable rating adequately reflects the functional impairment.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a skin disorder to include as due to herbicides exposure and granted it, finding new and material evidence. The veteran is now presumed exposed to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's squamous cell cancer of the tonsil is related to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange during service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted a 10 percent evaluation for the veteran's duodenal ulcer, finding that his disability picture more closely aligns with a mild condition. The issues of reopening service connection claims for anxiety disorder and diabetes mellitus have also been resolved in favor of the veteran.

The Board has determined that there is no current disability of the left leg resulting from a shrapnel wound incurred in service, and thus denied the veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran does not have current residuals of a head injury, back injury, or body injury related to service. The claims for these conditions were denied.

The veteran's request for payment for enrollment in an associate's degree course at Palomar Community College from January 17, 2006 to May 19, 2006 is denied as simultaneous payment for two different educational programs during the same time period is not allowed.

The Board found that the evidence submitted since the prior decisions is cumulative and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, thus denying the reopening of the previously denied claim for eligibility for VA death benefits.

The veteran's claim for increased disability ratings for varicose veins with superficial thrombophlebitis, left lower extremity was denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to May 3, 2007 and on or after May 3, 2007.

The VA has determined that the veteran's spondylolisthesis at L5-S1 does not warrant a higher rating than 20 percent, as there is no evidence of severe degenerative disc disease or severe limitation of motion.

The Board has determined that the appeal for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is moot due to a prior award of DIC benefits. The appellant does not have a claim for accrued benefits as her husband had no pending claims at the time of his death and did not have any unpaid benefits. The appellant is also not eligible for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.

The Board denied the veteran's application to reopen his previously denied claim of eligibility for VA benefits based on his alleged active service in the U.S. Armed Forces, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not meet the criteria for entitlement to basic eligibility for VA nonservice-connected pension benefits due to a lack of qualifying service.