The Board has granted the appellant's application to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that new and material evidence supports a link between in-service bronchitis episodes and the development of COPD, which contributed to his death from pancreatic cancer.
The deciding factor: The additional medical opinion linking multiple in-service episodes of bronchitis to the development of COPD is considered new and material evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Pancreatic cancer, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064630
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
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