The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed lung cancer and emphysema, diagnosed as COPD, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established because the disorders were not shown to have originated in service and VA is prohibited from granting service connection for disability on the basis of tobacco use during service for claims filed after June 9, 1998.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of lung cancer, emphysema (diagnosed as COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 16, 2007
- Citation
- 0725436
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0725436.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and TDIU due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding SSA records.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of lung cancer due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the relationship between in-service asbestos exposure and the development of lung cancer.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II and service connection for GERD, while denying increased ratings for lung cancer, hypertension, and hearing loss, among other issues.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for superficial punctate keratitis and conjunctival chemosis of the bilateral eyes, evaluated as noncompensably disabling as of August 10, 2022, but denied service connection for residuals of lung cancer, congestive heart failure, chest scars, and a left knee disorder.
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