The Board denied the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence showing a disability related to active service or a compensable degree within an applicable presumption period.
The deciding factor: The VA expert medical opinion report concluded it was difficult to ascertain the onset of pulmonary tuberculosis due to insufficient documentary evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchiectasis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0302858
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0302858.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lung disability, to include bronchiectasis, based on herbicide agent exposure due to the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bronchiectasis and allergic rhinitis, finding no evidence of a causal relationship between the in-service toxic exposures and the current conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that his service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis was at least as likely as not a contributory cause of his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a respiratory disability, diagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung, atelectasis, and bronchiectasis, to obtain an updated TERA memorandum and new VA opinion.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.