The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for COPD and/or asthma, but denied it on the merits. The Veteran's pulmonary disability is considered secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused him to use tobacco products after service, which may have contributed to his current pulmonary disability.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, asthma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2016
- Citation
- 1639058
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 1639058.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current respiratory disability and active duty service. The VA examiner concluded that the COPD was more likely due to tobacco use rather than asbestos exposure in service.
- 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.
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