The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death due to COPD, finding that it was attributable to his nicotine dependence. The issue of eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits was also denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the veteran's cause of death was denied as COPD was found to be secondary to nicotine dependence, which is not service-connected.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2003
- Citation
- 0326153
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 0326153.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected bilateral pleural scar with obstructive and restrictive pulmonary disease, COPD and chronic bronchitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic bronchitis, COPD, and emphysema but granted a 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and an increased rating for the Veteran's respiratory conditions, including chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, COPD, shortness of breath, and allergic rhinitis, to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and increased the rating for posttraumatic stress disorder to 100 percent, while denying or dismissing claims for other conditions.
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