COPD decisions — 2002

The Board has granted service connection for a respiratory disorder, including emphysema and COPD. The veteran's hearing loss is rated as noncompensable.

The Board denied service connection for skin keratosis and tinea pedis, COPD, arteriosclerotic vascular disease and residuals of stroke, a back disorder, and an affective disorder all claimed as due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for a lung disorder, claimed as secondary to asbestos exposure. However, there is no medical evidence of a diagnosis of asbestosis or any asbestos-related disability, and the VA examination did not find any changes consistent with asbestos exposure or asbestosis.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, and dependent's educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to a lack of evidence linking any service-connected disability to the veteran's fatal conditions.

The Board denied service connection for COPD and arteriosclerotic peripheral vascular disease, both claimed as due to in-service smoking of tobacco. The veteran's current disabilities are not considered to have resulted from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty during active military service.

The veteran's claim for TDIU benefits prior to November 3, 1993 was denied as he did not meet the criteria for a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for a psychoneurotic disorder. The veteran's claims for service connection for cardiac disorder and COPD were not well-grounded at the time of the 1998 rating decision, but are now considered on their merits.

The Board found that the veteran's death was caused by tobacco use during service, which contributed to his atherosclerotic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The VA examiner opined that nicotine dependence likely began in service.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a current disability of the left foot or toes as a residual of the in-service laceration. The pulmonary disorder was first diagnosed many years after service and there is no competent evidence relating it to active service.

The Board denied the reopening of claims for service connection for pneumonia, coronary artery disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current lung disorder, characterized as COPD, was aggravated by his service. The evidence shows a pre-existing condition of asthma in childhood which worsened during military service.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for COPD, finding it secondary to mustard gas exposure.

The Board found that the veteran's myocardial infarction, COPD and aneurysmal arterial disease were not caused by or aggravated by a service-connected disability. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that any service-connected condition contributed to the cause of death.

The Board denied the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no evidence linking any service-connected disabilities or nicotine dependence during service to his death.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a disability of service origin, including his service-connected residuals of shrapnel wounds.

The veteran is seeking compensation benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. � 1151 for various disabilities and adverse symptomology as a result of treatment received at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center from February 1998 to August 2001. The claims are denied due to lack of specific evidence regarding increased severity, causation by VA fault, or unforeseeable events.

The Board denied service connection for COPD and hypertension, finding that the veteran's COPD was not related to his active military service or any service-related nicotine dependence.

The Board has granted an effective date of March 22, 1996 for the award of service connection for COPD due to asbestos exposure. The veteran's claim was reopened on this date.

The veteran's service-connected COPD contributed to his death from myocardial infarction.