The Board finds that the appellant's current respiratory disability, including asthma and bronchitis, is causally related to his active service. The Board affords the appellant the benefit of doubt in favor of a connection between his service and these disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that it was not as likely as not that either condition (asthma or bronchitis) was causally related to the appellant's active service, including treatment for multiple upper respiratory infections. However, given the appellant's medical history and exposure to tear gas during service, the VA pulmonologist opined that this may have contributed to his pulmonary conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, recurrent bronchitis, residuals of a lobectomy of the middle and lower lobes of the right lung for a benign carcinoid tumor
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2013
- Citation
- 1305859
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 1305859.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of sleep apnea and asthma due to a failure to provide proper notice for a hearing.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to August 14, 2023.
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