The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his sleep apnea, chronic bronchitis, asthma, COPD, and allergic bronchospasm was denied. The current assigned rating of 60 percent is deemed insufficient.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s respiratory conditions do not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating as defined by the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Apnea, Chronic Bronchitis, Asthma, COPD, Allergic Bronchospasm
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- November 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20072361
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (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 20072361.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 service connection for COPD, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current respiratory disability and active duty service. The VA examiner concluded that the COPD was more likely due to tobacco use rather than asbestos exposure in service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, attributing it to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. COPD is considered a disease associated with such exposure.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
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