The Board has determined that the veteran's former attorney is not entitled to payment of attorney fees from past due benefits calculated in the amount of $3,514.80 as he did not represent the veteran in connection with his claim for an earlier effective date based on new and material evidence.
The deciding factor: The veteran's former attorney did not represent him in connection with his claim for an earlier effective date based on new and material evidence, which is a separate issue from the original service connection claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Nicotine Dependence, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 3, 2006
- Citation
- 0606176
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) on the basis of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in that the prior medical opinions are inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and issuance of a supplemental statement of the case.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory condition, including COPD, finding that there was no evidence linking his current COPD to his time in service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD based on the veteran's exposure to stressors during military service off the coast of Vietnam. The issues of nicotine dependence and bronchitis, claimed as secondary to nicotine dependence, are remanded for further development.
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