The Board finds that the Veteran's COPD, hypertension, venous insufficiency, and other respiratory, skin, ankle, foot, knee, and erectile dysfunction conditions are not service-connected as they were not incurred or aggravated by his military service.
The deciding factor: The competent medical evidence does not support a finding of asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis. The Veteran's COPD is currently diagnosed but the VA examiner opined that it was not related to service, attributing its cause to smoking rather than exposure to asbestos or other in-service factors.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, venous insufficiency, skin ulcer, right ankle strain, left ankle disability, bilateral foot disorders (hammertoes and hallux valgus), right knee disorder (infrapatellar bursitis), erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2018
- Citation
- 1814444
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 1814444.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- 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 Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
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