The Board found that the veteran does not have a diagnosed breathing disability and denied both his service connection claim for a breathing disability and his increased rating claim for L1 fracture with degenerative joint disease.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not identify any specific breathing condition, and the VA examiners concluded that the symptoms were due to deconditioning and morbid obesity rather than a service-connected condition or exposure to an in-service event.
- Claimed conditions
- Breathing disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2008
- Citation
- 0835694
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 0835694.
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 found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a breathing disability and therefore denied his claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability is granted service connection. The breathing disability issue is remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headaches, sleep apnea, breathing disability, deviated septum, tinnitus, and hypertension have been granted. The Board found new and material evidence to reopen these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records from the Veteran's private HMO, and further development is needed to determine if his breathing disability is related to service.
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