Other conditions Board decisions

The Board denied service connection for a lung disorder, to include emphysema and status post excision of a benign hamartoma as due to asbestos exposure. The veteran was also denied an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date, as there was no legal basis to assign a date prior to April 13, 2006.

The appellant was not legally married to the veteran at the time of his death, and therefore cannot be recognized as his surviving spouse for VA death benefit purposes.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and readjudication of the veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for duodenal ulcer, including consideration of staged ratings.

The veteran's claim for a higher initial evaluation for residuals of a gunshot wound to the right foot, with a third metatarsal fracture and retained foreign body is being remanded for further development.

The Board denied an initial, compensable rating for tremors of the head and neck prior to May 3, 2004, but granted a 10 percent rating effective May 3, 2004.

The Board found that the veteran was not exposed to herbicides during his service in Thailand and denied service connection for Hodgkin's disease.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for residuals of an injury to the nasal cavity and chronic sinusitis, and found that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the decision.

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including an addendum to the November 2007 VA examination report.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of rheumatic fever and arthritis, including rheumatic arthritis, as there was no competent evidence showing the veteran had a current disability related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder, as there was no competent medical evidence linking the current disability to active service or any incident of service.

The case is remanded to obtain additional evidence regarding the serviceman's exposure to ionizing radiation and to verify his activities during a period of ACDUTRA at White Sands.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for laminectomy with discectomy L4/5 and degenerative joint disease with radicular pain of the lower back, as there was no competent evidence linking the current disability to his military service.

The veteran does not have a currently diagnosed lung disability, and therefore service connection for a lung disability is denied.

The Board denied service connection for right middle finder osteopenia as the condition was not shown in service and is unrelated to service.

The veteran withdrew his appeal, and the Board dismissed the case.

The veteran's service-connected right hand disability is not entitled to a higher evaluation as the evidence does not support an increase beyond the current 10 percent rating.

The appellant was granted recognition as the veteran's surviving spouse for VA death benefits purposes, resolving all reasonable doubt in her favor.

The claim for an earlier effective date was denied as the evidence did not support that the appellant's filing with Social Security Administration for a lump sum death payment should be considered an application for dependency and indemnity compensation benefits with VA.

The veteran's keratoconus was incurred in service.