Tuberculosis decisions — 2004

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's COPD as aggravated by his service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis, and denied entitlement to a compensable rating for his moderately advanced pulmonary tuberculosis.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a lung disorder, including COPD, right upper lobectomy, and tuberculosis, as secondary to herbicide exposure.

The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the VA did not commit negligence or error in providing care. The criteria for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are not met.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed conditions did not have their onset during active service or within any prescribed presumptive period and were not linked to an established event, injury, or disease in service. Therefore, the claims for service connection were denied.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to lack of evidence linking his terminal pneumonia and PTB to service or any service-connected condition.,The appellant's claim for basic eligibility for VA death pension benefits was also denied as the veteran did not have qualifying service.

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

The veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for pulmonary tuberculosis from September 6, 1978, to October 4, 1999 was denied as the criteria for such a rating were not met during this period.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, entitlement to accrued benefits, and nonservice-connected pension benefits. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the veteran's death to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer, which were not service-connected at the time of the veteran's death. The appeal is based on direct evidence rather than a presumption or reopening.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and entitlement to nonservice-connected death pension benefits. The claim for DIC under section 1318 is also denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for clarification of his hearing preference and further development.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including a right knee disability, positive tuberculosis test, gastrointestinal disability, and genitourinary disability. The evidence does not support current diagnoses or link these conditions to military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or in-service occurrence or aggravation.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining inpatient clinical records and arranging for a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the veteran's genitourinary tuberculosis, including bilateral epididymectomy, prostate involvement, and right kidney status post heminephrectomy, warrants a disability rating of 40 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary tuberculosis was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability during or after service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, gastric ulcer disease, hypertension, and prostatitis, were not incurred or aggravated during his active military service.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis was granted, with a current evaluation of 20 percent. The claim for hearing loss is denied.

The Board found that the veteran did not have a service-connected disability, and his death was not caused by any such condition. Therefore, he cannot be granted service connection for cause of death.

The veteran's death was caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary artery disease. The appellant contends that the cause of her father's death is related to his service-connected disability, pulmonary tuberculosis. Additional medical records are needed for a thorough evaluation.