The Board denied service connection for hammertoes of both feet and residuals of a collapsed right lung, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the current respiratory disability (COPD) was unrelated to the inservice pneumothorax, attributing it instead to the Veteran’s long history of smoking cigarettes.
- Claimed conditions
- hammertoes of both feet, residuals of a collapsed right lung
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18143206
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 18143206.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding the initial compensable rating for residuals of a collapsed right lung and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities. As such, these issues are dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims were dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hammertoes of both feet and plantar warts of the left foot, finding that these conditions are secondary to service-connected bony exostoses.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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