COPD decisions — 2008

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD or bronchitis, as well as his claim for a lumbar spine disorder. The veteran was previously denied these claims in June 2002, but no new evidence has since been provided.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, lumbosacral spine disorder, memory loss, celiac disease, sinus disorder, and neurological disorder (essential tremor of both hands). The appeals were decided on a direct basis without any presumption or secondary relationship to a previously service-connected condition.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death (cardiac arrest, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and COPD) was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a disability incurred in service. The veteran did not have a service-connected total disability permanent in nature at the time of his death.

The Board found that the veteran's current lung disorder, other than a right lung granuloma, was not incurred in or aggravated by service and was not proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disability. The issue of entitlement to a compensable initial disability rating for service-connected right lung granuloma is addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asbestosis and COPD, finding no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's claims have been dismissed due to his death.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing Dingess/Hartman VCAA notice.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an allergic reaction to anesthesia, including Novocain and COPD. The claim of entitlement to a compensable disability evaluation for service-connected residuals of a fractured coccyx and sacrum is also addressed in this decision.