The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating, finding that the evidence did not support these claims.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was insufficient evidence to establish a direct link between the claimed conditions and the Veteran's military service or exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- corneal opacities, conjunctivitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0946534
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 0946534.
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 initial compensable ratings for hemorrhoids, umbilical hernia scar, tinea pedis, and corneal opacities (claimed as residual of photorefractive keratotomy). The Veteran's service-connected conditions were not found to meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral glaucoma, corneal opacities and corneal erosion, and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral glaucoma due to incomplete information and need for further medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to VCAA compliance issues and for a VA examination.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for various respiratory and other conditions, including laryngitis, bronchitis, corneal opacities, arthritis, enlargement of the testicles, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and cor pulmonale, as secondary to mustard gas exposure during active military service. The Board found that there was no verified full-body mustard gas exposure and that medical evidence did not show these conditions were due to mustard gas exposure or incurred coincident with service.
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