The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with asthma, as there was no competent evidence of a nexus between COPD with asthma and active military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing that the Veteran's COPD with asthma is related to his service. The record does not show any respiratory problems during service or for many years after service, and post-service medical records attribute the disorders to the Veteran's history of smoking and/or post service industrial occupational exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2009
- Citation
- 0908364
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (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 0908364.
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: Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for COPD with asthma and a 70 percent rating for PTSD, while denying service connection for a left shoulder condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with asthma based on the evidence showing that the disability picture is most closely characterized by the already-assigned 10 percent criteria under Diagnostic Code 6602.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. The claim for service connection for COPD with asthma is remanded for further evaluation.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for depression, a compensable rating for hypertension, TDIU, and COPD with asthma have been dismissed due to the appellant's withdrawal of his appeal.
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