COPD Board decisions

The Board found that COPD was not incurred in or aggravated by the veteran's active duty service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right knee disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, migraine headaches, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Board found that these conditions did not manifest during or as a result of his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection for various conditions, including bilateral weak feet, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, asthma, seborrheic keratosis (now claimed as skin cancer), emphysema, and keratitis with clouded vision. The appeals were not successful due to lack of evidence supporting the veteran's claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, emphysema, COPD, glaucoma of the right eye, glaucoma of the left eye, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis or degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine. The reasons were that there was no current diagnosis of these conditions in the record.

The Board denied service connection for a respiratory disorder, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), on the basis that there was no evidence linking COPD to service or exposure to ionizing radiation. The veteran's claim was based on his alleged exposure during military service but the VA expert found no causal link between COPD and ionizing radiation.

The veteran is seeking an increased evaluation for his service-connected bronchiecstasis with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The case has been remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional medical records.

The Board has determined that the VA's duties to notify and assist have not been fulfilled for this issue, and thus the case is being returned to the RO/AMC for further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, as well as his attempts to reopen previously denied claims for residuals of lumbosacral strain and head injury with headaches. The decision found no evidence supporting a link between these conditions and service or asbestos exposure.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is being remanded for further evaluation, including scheduling of a social and industrial survey.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for pulmonary tuberculosis and a compensable disability evaluation for residuals of histoplasmosis, finding no evidence of current disabilities related to these conditions. The claim for COPD was remanded.

The Board has determined that the veteran's type II diabetes mellitus, which is related to his active duty service and presumed due to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, contributed substantially to cause the veteran's death. As such, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current pulmonary disabilities, including COPD and a moderate obstructive lung defect, to asbestos exposure during his military service. The claim for service connection was denied.

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 his fatal conditions to his active service or exposure to Agent Orange.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a broken nose, right ear hearing loss, hand and elbow disorder, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, and increased rating for DDD of the lumbar spine. The evidence did not establish new and material evidence to reopen any of these claims.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of his death.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical examinations and opinions regarding the veteran's service-connected sinusitis and its impact on his other claimed disabilities.

The Board found that the cause of death, medullary failure due to respiratory arrest due to acute bronchial asthma, was not related to service-connected conditions or herbicide exposure. The COPD was considered a contributory cause but not the principal cause of death.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and a dental disorder. The decision also noted that new evidence had not been received to reopen the claim for residuals of pneumonia.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current respiratory disability, including COPD and emphysema, was not incurred or aggravated by service, specifically due to in-service asbestos exposure. The medical evidence does not support a connection between his current condition and service.

The Board found that the veteran's arteriosclerosis and COPD were not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor are they proximately due to her service-connected asthma. The claims for service connection were denied.