The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for a respiratory disability, back disability, and gastrointestinal disability are not supported by the evidence of record. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding a link between these conditions and the Veteran's period of active military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing that any of the claimed disabilities were incurred in or aggravated by the Veteran's period of active military service, including as due to asbestos exposure for the respiratory disability. The back disability was not shown within one year after discharge from service and there is no evidence linking it to service. The gastrointestinal disability has not been diagnosed during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disability (bronchial asthma with pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), back disability, gastrointestinal disability (acute gastroenteritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2012
- Citation
- 1221188
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 1221188.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, endometriosis, thyroid condition, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. The claims are now considered on their merits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for additional VA examination. The Veteran's back disability is being reviewed again with new evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for back, hip, and lower extremity disabilities due to a lack of VA examination and outstanding treatment records. The Veteran's current diagnoses and lay statements will be considered in determining if his conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the colon is granted as secondary to his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder to include alcohol use disorder. The back disability claim is remanded for further development.
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