The veteran's COPD was not shown in service or for many years thereafter and has not been found to be related to such military duty. The appeal for a compensable rating for the service-connected pneumonia residuals is also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the veteran's displayed symptoms are not related to his service-connected disability, while the private physician's opinions were not based on a review of the claims folder and did not provide an alternative diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- restricted lung disease, chronic obstructive respiratory disorder (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0901863
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0901863.
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: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for restricted lung disease and a compensable rating for tension headaches, while remanding the claim for service connection for low back strain.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the claims for service connection for restricted lung disease and GERD. The claims are being remanded due to potential TERA development under the PACT Act.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's respiratory disorder, including asthma, emphysema, and restricted lung disease, is related to service-connected sinusitis or rhinitis or due to in-service asbestos exposure. However, additional development is needed as the medical opinion provided did not address the Veteran's submissions or lay statements.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for insomnia, maxilla injury, and headaches. Service connection was granted for restricted lung disease with a specific rating.,Increased ratings were not granted for the Veteran's headaches.
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