The Veteran's shortness of breath is considered symptomatology associated with an undiagnosed illness that manifested during his service in the Southwest Asia Theater of operations, and thus service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection is granted based on presumptive service connection for undiagnosed illnesses due to exposure to burn pit smoke during active military service in the Gulf War theater.
- Claimed conditions
- shortness of breath, undiagnosed illness
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 29, 2016
- Citation
- 1638781
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 1638781.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on four different conditions have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran during the appeal process.
- Granted
The Veteran's shortness of breath and Hodgkin's lymphoma are granted service connection, but his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acquired psychiatric disorder are denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to missing records and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The claims will be readjudicated after obtaining any necessary records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a heart condition (congestive heart failure), hypertension, and shortness of breath. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to his military service.
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