The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches due to Gulf War hazards as due to an undiagnosed illness is not reopened and denied.,Service connection for COPD is granted, with the condition related to environmental exposure during military service. The claim for service connection for abnormal liver disability is denied.
The deciding factor: The new evidence does not provide a diagnosis of a headache condition and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.,The VA examiner's opinion supports that COPD is related to environmental exposure during military service, while the June 2016 VA examination report concluded there was no diagnosed illness for which an etiology could be established.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), abnormal liver disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19123171
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19123171.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Whole decision: 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.
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