Asthma decisions — 2008

The Board has determined that a remand is required to clarify whether the veteran's pre-existing asthma was aggravated by his period of active service, and to obtain medical records for treatment since 2003.

The veteran has withdrawn his appeal for the initial compensable evaluation of the right ankle fracture and all other issues on appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verification of service dates and a VA examination to assess the likelihood that the veteran's asthma was incurred or aggravated during her active duty or ACDUTRA.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a respiratory disability and left knee arthritis, finding no evidence of such disabilities in service or within one year post-service. The diagnoses were known clinical entities not related to service.

The Board has denied service connection for asthma and granted service connection for tinnitus. The veteran's asthma was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, while his tinnitus is as likely as not due to noise exposure in service.

The Board denied service connection for bronchitis and asthma, as well as the reopening of claims for bilateral hearing loss and hepatitis C. The veteran's current respiratory conditions are not related to his active duty service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to failure of the veteran to attend a scheduled VA examination.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disorder, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma, finding that there is no clear and unmistakable evidence to show that his pre-existing conditions were aggravated by service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's asthma warrants a 60 percent rating from May 28, 1998 to December 31, 1999. Since then, her condition does not meet the criteria for an increased rating.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for COPD, claimed as asthma and emphysema. The veteran's exposure to mustard gas during military service was not established, and his current respiratory disorder is not related to his service.

The Board denied service connection for polycythemia vera, hypertension, and asthma. The veteran's polycythemia vera was not related to service or exposure to herbicides. Hypertension and asthma were also not found to be related to service.

The VA determined that there is no evidence linking the veteran's current lung disorder to his service, including his reported asthma. The Board found insufficient medical evidence to support a finding of service connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining VA treatment records and verifying stressors related to PTSD.

The Board has determined that the veteran's pre-existing asthma did not undergo an increase in severity during his period of active duty service, and thus cannot be considered to have been aggravated by service. As a result, the claim for service connection for asthma is denied.

The Board found that the appellant's reactive airway disease pre-existed service and was not aggravated by service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's medical expenses for an EEG, minor eye surgery, and a sleep study were not authorized in advance by VA and therefore denied payment or reimbursement.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of a diagnosed condition for the claimed bilateral ankle, knee, shoulder, foot, and shin splints disorders. The veteran's asthma was not established as service-connected due to lack of current diagnosis.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Board hearing. The issues of service connection for various conditions are pending.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA pulmonary examination to evaluate the veteran's asthma.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 30 percent rating for bronchial asthma, finding that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the December 1950 rating decision reducing his evaluation from 30 to 10 percent. The current effective date of July 22, 1993, is considered appropriate.