The veteran's respiratory disability is currently rated at 60 percent, but does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board also found that his service-connected disability does not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's FEV-1 and FEV-1/FVC values do not meet the criteria for a 100 percent rating under applicable new criteria, as they are below the threshold of 40/55% predicted. The Board found that his disability does not render him unable to obtain or maintain gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic bronchiectasis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- September 15, 2004
- Citation
- 0425415
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 0425415.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for a respiratory disorder, including COPD and chronic bronchiectasis, is denied. The Board found no evidence of a respiratory disorder during his military service and concluded that the current conditions are not causally related to any disease, injury, or incident in service, particularly due to presumed herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cervical spine injury, bilateral hearing loss, and chronic bronchiectasis due to incomplete records and need for additional medical examinations.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current respiratory disability, including COPD and chronic bronchiectasis, is causally related to his symptoms during service. As such, the criteria for service connection have been met.
- Granted
The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing chronic respiratory disorder, including bronchiectasis and restrictive airway disease, was not aggravated by his military service.
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