Chronic bronchitis Board decisions

The Board found that service connection for bronchitis was not warranted, but granted service connection for other conditions and assigned noncompensable evaluations.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bronchitis and rhinitis were incurred in service, and thus granted service connection for these conditions. The lumbar spine condition claim was denied as new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen it.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for asthmatic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is well-grounded, as there is medical evidence linking his current lung conditions to exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke during active duty. The RO must now provide a VA examination to determine if this link is at least as likely as not caused by the veteran's service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for cavernous hemangioma, varicose veins, and initial evaluations for pulmonary disorder (asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and atherosclerotic heart disease are granted. The claim for service connection for depression is also granted.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic bronchitis, laryngitis, and asthma as secondary to exposure to mustard gas in service. The veteran's chronic restrictive pulmonary disease is not due to the mustard gas exposure.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right knee disorder and chronic bronchitis, finding that the evidence did not warrant a rating higher than 30 percent under either the old or new criteria.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim of service connection for allergic rhinitis is well-grounded. The VA will provide further examination and development to determine if a compensable evaluation can be assigned for her cervical strain with muscle spasm and headaches, as well as whether she should receive a separate rating for her noncompensable service-connected disabilities.

The Board granted a 60 percent disability evaluation for the veteran's protein C deficiency with respiratory failure and chronic bronchitis secondary to recurrent pulmonary emboli, effective October 7, 1996.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as secondary to service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis are not well grounded.

The veteran's suicide by gunshot wound to the head was not related to any mental disorder during service, and there is no competent medical evidence demonstrating a relationship between his cause of death and any incident of service. The claim for service connection for the veteran's cause of death is denied.

The Board denied a higher rating for the veteran's service-connected benign granuloma of the lung, finding that there was insufficient medical evidence to determine if the condition had worsened or if it was due to non-service connected conditions.

The case is being remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of the appellant's claims, including her claim for service connection on the basis of nicotine dependence for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are service-connected, but denied his claim for bronchitis due to herbicide exposure as not well-grounded.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and considering the newly submitted evidence. The claims for service connection for nicotine dependence, asthma and chronic bronchitis, and TDIU are inextricably intertwined.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death, warranting a finding of service connection for the cause of death.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection were not well-grounded and denied them.

The veteran's asthma and asthmatic bronchitis are productive of no more than moderate dyspnea, with FEV-1 between 40 to 55 percent from November 3, 1997 to May 19, 1998. The Board finds a 60% rating is warranted for this period.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral bronchitis as residuals of pneumonia in May 1974, finding no evidence of a causal relationship between his bronchitis and his service. The RO reopened the claim in May 1997 but denied it again due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and review, including adjudicating a claim of clear and unmistakable error in prior rating actions and scheduling a VA examination to address the appellant's employability due to his service-connected lung disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bronchitis and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no well-grounded evidence to support these claims.