The Veteran's respiratory disorder, including COPD, did not manifest during service and is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any event, injury, or disease of service origin, to include exposure to herbicides. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's current COPD is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The March 2015 VA examination concluded that it was less likely than not that the Veteran's COPD was caused by his military history, specifically his exposure to Agent Orange. The examiner also concluded that coronary artery disease did not cause or aggravate the Veteran's COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1640243
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 1640243.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete development regarding asbestos exposure and its relation to the Veteran's death. A new medical opinion is needed to determine if any of the causes of death are related to service, particularly in-service asbestos exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for respiratory disorders, finding that there is no medical evidence linking his current respiratory conditions to his service-connected left lower lung pneumothorax disability or to his military service.
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