The Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased ratings have been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeals of the issues related to irritable bowel disease and emphysema and COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- Emphysema and COPD, Irritable bowel disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159372
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 19159372.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel disease, neuropathy of lower extremities, neuropathy of upper extremities, rhinitis, sinusitis, prostate cancer, bilateral plantar fasciitis, right knee condition (claimed as bilateral knee injuries), and traumatic brain injury is denied due to lack of evidence supporting the presence or relationship of these conditions to service.,The Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for loss of use of a creative organ and sleep apnea related to an acquired psychiatric disability is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by diffuse pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, which the Board finds is service-connected due to exposure to silica fibers in service. The claims for accrued benefits based on pending claims for service connection for various conditions are also granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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