The Veteran's service connection claim for respiratory conditions, including as due to exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is denied. The Veteran's PTSD rating from April 2, 2014 to February 23, 2017 is granted at a 50 percent disability rating but his request for an increased rating in excess of 50 percent during this period is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a direct service connection for the Veteran's respiratory conditions and PTSD symptoms are primarily attributed to non-service-connected bipolar disorder, making it difficult to determine the exact impact of service-connected conditions on his disability picture.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18104141
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 18104141.
What this means for you
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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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