The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lung condition, finding that there is no evidence to support a relationship between his current COPD and either his military service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The VA providers indicated that COPD was likely related to the Veteran's history of smoking, not to his military service or exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- Lung Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18100423
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18100423.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and remanded the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, a lung condition, and entitlement to TDIU.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to a compensable rating for GERD, service connection for skin condition, and service connection for lung condition due to missing evidence in the claims file.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider whether the Veteran's lung condition is related to service exposure to burn pits in Bosnia.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied, and his service connection claim for a lung condition is also denied.
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