Chronic bronchitis decisions — 2000

The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no medical evidence linking any service-connected disability to the veteran's cause of death.

The veteran's low back disorder with radiculopathy, sinusitis, and bronchitis are all found to be related to his active service.

The veteran's appeal for a higher evaluation for bronchitis and COPD was dismissed because the veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.

The veteran's service-connected small airway disease with restrictive component and history of bronchitis is currently rated at 30 percent, but the evidence does not support an increase in rating.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection for bronchitis and emphysema as a result of tobacco use in service or nicotine dependence which began in service are not well grounded.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for psychiatric disability, denied service connection for residuals of a right ankle injury, denied increased ratings for traumatic arthritis of the cervical spine and bronchitis, and denied an increased rating for residuals of a fracture of the right wrist.

The Board denied service connection for bronchitis and pneumonia, and found the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability not well grounded.

The Board has determined that service connection is granted for the cause of the veteran's death due to chronic prostatitis and urethritis, which contributed substantially or materially to his death.

The Board has granted increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected sinusitis and bronchitis, but denied his claim for TDIU.

The Board finds that the veteran's claim of service connection for bronchitis, including as secondary to nicotine dependency is not well grounded and therefore denied.

The veteran's claim for service connection for bronchitis was denied as there is no evidence of a chronic condition in service and no continuity of symptoms after service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, bronchitis, alcoholism, and PTSD. The RO previously denied these claims in April 1992 without reopening them due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for bronchitis, sinusitis, low back disability, and bilateral hearing loss are not well-grounded. The evidence does not establish a link between these conditions and his military service.

The VA determined that the appellant is not unemployable due to his disabilities, as he has a combined evaluation of 30 percent for nonservice-connected conditions and does not meet the disability percentage requirements for pension purposes.

The veteran's asthma and reactive bronchitis are considered to have been incurred in service, while her respiratory symptoms due to undiagnosed illness during the Persian Gulf War are well-grounded.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected chronic bronchitis, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under either the old or new versions of the rating criteria.

The Board has determined that service connection is warranted for bilateral hearing loss and COPD, including bronchitis. The veteran's current disabilities are found to be related to his in-service exposure to weapons-related acoustic trauma and smoking.

The Board has granted a 30 percent disability rating for the service-connected asthmatic allergic bronchitis, effective from the date of separation from active military service (April 1995).

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for tuberculosis and bronchitis/asthma, both claimed as due to exposure to Agent Orange. The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to the veteran's military service.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, concluding that the additional evidence did not support a finding of chronic respiratory disorders in service.