The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 100% since June 24, 2010.,New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for COPD. The claim remains pending.,Service connection for COPD was denied in a previous decision but reopened due to new evidence. The Veteran's COPD is not related to his military service.,The Veteran's TDIU rating appeal is moot as he already has a 100% disability rating for PTSD.
The deciding factor: PTSD causes total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100% evaluation since June 24, 2010.,New evidence supports reopening the COPD service connection claim but does not establish its relation to service.,The November 2016 VA examiner found that the Veteran's COPD was less likely than not caused by his in-service smoke inhalation event due to the resolution of symptoms within a day and no ongoing respiratory problems until 2011, with a long history of smoking cigarettes being more likely cause.,The Veteran's TDIU rating appeal is moot as he already has a 100% disability rating for PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 19, 2018
- Citation
- 1823414
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 1823414.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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