The Veteran's claim for COPD was denied due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service. New evidence has not reopened this claim.,Prostate cancer and type II diabetes were granted as they are presumed conditions related to herbicide agent exposure during service in Vietnam.,Diabetic neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities is also granted, linked to the Veteran's service-connected type II diabetes.
The deciding factor: The new evidence does not provide a link between COPD and service. The condition was diagnosed after service and attributed to smoking.,Prostate cancer and type II diabetes are presumed conditions due to herbicide agent exposure during service in Vietnam.,Diabetic neuropathy is proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected type II diabetes.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Prostate Cancer, Type II Diabetes
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19141967
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,515 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19141967.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for COPD due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for a supplemental medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal to reduce the ratings for OSA and COPD with asthma and granuloma of the lung was denied, as well as his attempt to add a claim for service connection for aphasia secondary to TBI. The appeals were dismissed due to untimeliness.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension and prostate cancer residuals (voiding dysfunction) have been granted increased ratings of 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted SMC at the rate of 50% for his service-connected conditions from April 20, 2020 to June 7, 2021.
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