The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for respiratory disability, as there was no direct link to military service and the condition first manifested many years after service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current respiratory disability was determined not to be related to his service due to lack of chronicity in service and absence of continuity of symptoms post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (respiratory disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0910642
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 0910642.
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: Granted
The Board granted a total 100 percent disability rating for the service-connected respiratory disability and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypersensitivity pneumonitis and denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertensive vascular disease, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease. However, the Board granted an increased rating of 40 percent for both left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes mellitus and granted total disability based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities effective March 15, 2021.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the merits were dismissed. The claims of entitlement to service connection for anemia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and pulmonary pneumonitis and fibrosis have been withdrawn by the Veteran. Appeals for reopening of several other conditions based on new and material evidence are granted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's lung disability, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis and a blood clotting disorder affecting the lungs, is found to be at least as likely as not proximately due to his service-connected hairy cell leukemia.
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