Other conditions Board decisions

The Board has determined that further development is required due to insufficient evidence and remands the case for compliance with VCAA requirements.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypoglycemia and thus, service connection for this condition is denied.

The veteran is seeking payment for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Takoma Adventist Hospital on February 13, 2006. The AOJ denied the claim due to the treatment not being emergent and VA facilities being feasibly available. The case is REMANDED for further development including obtaining an ambulance report.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional information and records, including Social Security Administration (SSA) records and private psychiatric records. The case will be reconsidered after these are obtained.

The Board granted a 10 percent disability evaluation for the veteran's residuals of fractures of the third and fourth metatarsals of the left foot, finding that this level of impairment warranted an increased rating.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for aphakia, bilateral intraocular lens implant, with residuals of retinal detachment of the right eye is denied as his current evaluation (30%) is the minimal rating that can be applied to this condition.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and finds that new and material evidence has been submitted. The issue now is whether the veteran's claimed in-service stressor actually occurred.

The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to service connection for cause of death and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance. The appellant needs to be provided with proper notice as per Hupp v. Nicholson.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an apportionment of the veteran's compensation benefits on behalf of their child, finding that it did not meet the criteria due to undue financial hardship caused by requiring the veteran to pay additional support.

The veteran's claim for an annual clothing allowance was denied as there is no evidence that his service-connected residual laceration wound requires the use of a prosthetic or orthopedic appliance that wears or tears his clothing.

The VA has determined that the veteran's bilateral cryptorchism does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, as it only manifests intermittent pain and swelling without recurrent symptomatic infection requiring drainage or frequent hospitalization.

The veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected malaria, as the disease resolved within a few years and did not recur at the time of his accident.

The Board denied an increased rating for aphakia of the left eye, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left foot arthritis is an additional disability resulting from VA surgery in September 1990, and thus entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for his intervertebral disc syndrome with bulging disc at L5-S1, finding that prior to September 23, 2002, the disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. Between September 23, 2002, and September 26, 2003, the disability was not productive of incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least four but less than six weeks during a 12-month period. From September 26, 2003, the disability has not been productive of forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine of 30 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.

The veteran's stomach reflux esophagitis is productive of persistently recurrent epigastric distress with dysphagia, pyrosis, and regurgitation, accompanied by substernal or arm pain. The criteria for a 30 percent evaluation have been met for the entire appeal period.

The Board has determined that the veteran's DVT of the right calf does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation, as there are no objective findings of claudication or diminished peripheral pulses. The claim is therefore denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral vitreous floaters are service-connected, as they had their onset during his active duty.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a closed head injury with cerebellar hemorrhage and brain abscess are rated at the highest possible schedular evaluation (100%) due to total occupational and social impairment.

The Board granted service connection for residuals of compression fracture of L1 with secondary chronic back strain and assigned a 10 percent rating. The claim for an initial compensable rating for tinea pedis was also granted.