The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection and increased ratings related to bronchiectasis with bronchiolitis, COPD, asbestosis, coronary artery disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and bowel disorder. The Veteran's claims were not supported by evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran did not have exposure to herbicide agents during service, which precludes presumptive service connection for coronary artery disease. Additionally, there was no chronicity or continuous symptoms of CAD documented in service records.
- Claimed conditions
- bronchiectasis with bronchiolitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, bowel disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19163067
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19163067.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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