The Board denied service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and respiratory cancer, both as being due to exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current diagnoses of COPD and respiratory cancer to his military service or presumed herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), respiratory cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0617648
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 0617648.
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 service connection for cervical dysplasia, tension headaches, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and denied increased ratings for right elbow flexion, supination and pronation, extension, and scars. The Board also remanded claims for fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and irritable bowel syndrome.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for respiratory cancer as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected throat cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), emphysema, and left shoulder degenerative arthritis to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error and to satisfy a regulatory or statutory duty that may aid in substantiating the Veteran's claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for breathing impairment to include COPD and emphysema, secondary to asbestos exposure, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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