The Board has granted service connection for asthma and COPD as aggravated by service-connected disabilities, and gastrointestinal disorders including GERD, hiatal hernia, and H. pylori gastritis are also granted as aggravated by service-connected conditions. Service connection for diabetes is reopened but not yet decided.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions of record are at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders are aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, including major depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, H. pylori gastritis, diabetes mellitus, type II
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 25, 2018
- Citation
- 18137446
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 18137446.
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 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
- 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.
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