The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for systemic lupus, a respiratory disability (claimed as asthma and bronchitis), swallowing difficulty, and gastric/stomach ulcers. However, the Board denied these claims as there is no evidence of record showing that any of these conditions are related to active military service or exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claimed respiratory disability was not shown to be due to asbestos exposure and his swallowing difficulty and gastric/stomach ulcers were not diagnosed until many years after service. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active military service or any in-service disease or injury, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic Lupus, Respiratory Disability (variously claimed as asthma, bronchitis, and/or restrictive lung disease), Swallowing Difficulty, Gastric/Stomach Ulcers
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2016
- Citation
- 1617699
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 1617699.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development to address whether systemic lupus and rheumatoid arthritis have affected other parts of the Veteran's body, including internal organs. The claims are also remanded to determine if fibromyalgia is caused or aggravated by these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection have been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The Veteran's pulmonary embolism (fainting spells) and systemic lupus (arthritis) are being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine their relationship to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for a personality disorder, acquired psychiatric disorders other than PTSD, asthma, hypertension, systemic lupus, migraine headaches, and right ankle disability are all denied.,Service connection is granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD due to military sexual trauma (MST).
- Denied
The Veteran's depressive disorder has not been shown to be productive of occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas; nor has it been productive of total social and occupational impairment, thus the claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for depressive disorder associated with systemic lupus is denied.
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