The Veteran's death was caused by his own history of smoking, not by any service-connected disability. The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected foot disabilities did not contribute to or cause his terminal respiratory conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's service-connected foot disabilities were not contributory causes of his death and did not aggravate his terminal lung conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, lung cancer, chronic respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2018
- Citation
- 1802011
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 1802011.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and a TDIU, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
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