The Board found that the RO's initial grant of service connection for nicotine addiction and chronic bronchitis was clearly erroneous, and thus severed this service connection. The veteran does not have hypertension or heart disease related to military service or service-connected disability. He also does not have an acquired psychiatric disability, hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches, or dizziness that are related to military service.
The deciding factor: The RO misapplied the regulations in granting service connection for nicotine addiction and chronic bronchitis, which was subsequently severed by the RO due to clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Claimed conditions
- nicotine addiction, bronchitis, hypertension, heart disease, acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD), hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches, dizziness, Meniere's disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 1, 2004
- Citation
- 0414019
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0414019.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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