The Board has determined that the Veteran's COPD/bronchitis is due to half a century of smoking and not related to his military service. As such, service connection for COPD/bronchitis on the basis of tobacco use in service is denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the veteran's current pulmonary trouble was related to a very long history of smoking, which contradicts Dr. Grotheer's opinion that the Veteran's military occupational specialty contributed to his current pulmonary problems.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD/bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0916638
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 0916638.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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