The Board denied service connection for COPD, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and Skin Disorder of the Feet due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to active service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no causal relationship between the Veteran's current conditions and his in-service exposures or service.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Skin Disorder of the Feet
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19100833
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's respiratory condition and his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, bilateral radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and bilateral radiculopathy and neuropathy of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 50 percent rating.
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