COPD Board decisions

The Board denied the claims for a compensable rating for hypertension, an increased rating for a left ankle disability, service connection for chronic headaches and a neck injury, and remanded several other claims including service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, residuals of traumatic brain injury, erectile dysfunction, respiratory disability, right knee disability, and skin condition affecting the feet.

The Board granted an increased rating of 20 percent for bilateral plantar warts but denied a higher rating for PTSD. The claims for service connection for right maxillary neurofibroma, COPD, and hammer toes were reopened.

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant and no eligible person has been identified for substitution.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his causes of death were not related to his military service.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension, a heart disability, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease. A 70 percent rating was also granted for depressive disorder with anxious distress from February 10, 2023.

The Board granted the veteran's appeal and reinstated a 60 percent rating for asthma and COPD, effective March 1, 2024.

The Board granted service connection for gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD), chronic kidney disease, unspecified asthma without complications, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on a direct basis.

The Board denied service connection for a respiratory disorder, including asthma and COPD, finding no evidence of in-service incurrence or a causal relationship to service.

The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the Veteran's condition was not causally or etiologically related to his military service, including presumed exposure to burn pits and other toxins.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD and granted a rating of 30 percent, but no higher, for COPD from March 25, 2021, to January 29, 2024.

The Veteran's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with asthma was granted a 100 percent rating from October 20, 2021, and special monthly compensation at the rate authorized under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) was granted from February 4, 2019, and at the rate authorized under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(n) was granted from October 20, 2021.

The appeal for a compensable rating for service-connected pleural plaques was withdrawn by the Veteran, and the Board has no further jurisdiction to consider this matter.

The Board denied service connection for a lung disability, to include COPD, as the evidence did not show an increase in severity during service.

The Board dismissed all claims for service connection and increased ratings due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board granted service connection for chronic hypoxemic respiratory failure and COPD, both related to presumed in-service herbicide exposure.

The Board denied service connection for GERD, Barrett's esophagus, ILD, asthma with COPD and bronchiectasis, and an initial compensable disability rating for hypertension as the evidence did not show a relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.

The Board granted the appeal to restore service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with chronic bronchitis, finding that the severance of service connection was improper.

The Board granted service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) based on a presumption of service connection due to toxic exposure during the Veteran's service in Southwest Asia.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for COPD and GERD to obtain new medical examinations addressing toxic exposure and whether these conditions are secondary to PTSD.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to allow for initial AOJ consideration based on new and relevant evidence submitted by the Appellant.