COPD decisions — 2006

The Board found that the veteran's current lung disorders are not related to his service, including exposure to asbestos and mustard gas. The claim was denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development of the record, including obtaining medical records and providing a VA pulmonary examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of the veteran's claimed respiratory disorder.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death was pneumonia, which is not service-connected. The lung problems were attributed to post-service smoking and COPD.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to outstanding VA treatment records and the need for additional examinations.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of the issues, including a statement from the coroner regarding the cause of death.

The Board found that the appellant does not have COPD or carcinoma of the right lung that is attributable to military service, including any in-service asbestos exposure.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that none of the conditions causing or contributing to the veteran's death were present during his military service or until many years thereafter, and none is shown to be related to any incident of his military service.

The veteran's tension headaches are rated at 50 percent, effective from the date of his claim. The initial evaluations for COPD remain unchanged.

The veteran's earlier effective date claims for COPD and TDIU were decided, with the COPD claim granted but the TDIU claim denied.

The Board found that the veteran's respiratory failure, lung cancer, and COPD were not caused or contributed to by service. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that any service-connected condition was related to death.

The veteran's COPD is not related to service or his service-connected cavernous hemangioma, and thus he cannot be granted service connection for this condition.,His hypertension was also found unrelated to service or his service-connected disability. The veteran received a 100% rating for his cavernous hemangioma based on the severity of his restrictive lung disease.

The Board found that the veteran's COPD did not result from service exposure, but rather was caused by his long-term cigarette smoking. The cause of death is therefore not considered to be related to service.

The appellant's claim for accrued benefits based on clear and unmistakable error in a December 1996 rating decision is dismissed because the appellant lacks standing to pursue such a claim.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development, including obtaining treatment reports and seeking medical opinions on the cause of death.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD as secondary to his service-connected PTB and for an increased rating for PTB.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the veteran's death, and all related decisions are vacated.

The veteran's surviving spouse is seeking accrued benefits for COPD, claimed as secondary to asbestos exposure in service. The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a statement of the case addressing this matter.

The veteran is seeking service connection for COPD on the basis that it is due to exposure to asbestos during service. The case has been remanded for further development, including a VA examination and proper VCAA notice.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current lung disorders, including bronchitis, emphysema, and COPD, were not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board found that COPD did not develop in service, was not made worse by service, and is not otherwise shown to be related to in-service occurrence or event. Therefore, the veteran's claim for service connection for COPD was denied.