The Veteran's additional chronic disability of difficulty breathing and difficulty swallowing is not considered to be caused by VA medical treatment received in March 1981, thus compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for this condition is denied.
The deciding factor: The May 2020 VA physician concluded that the Veteran's additional chronic disability was less likely related to the 1981 VA medical treatment and more likely due to lower esophageal narrowing and COPD, both well documented in the medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080776
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent disability rating for hypothyroidism and earlier effective dates for the award of service connection for difficulty swallowing and special monthly compensation, but dismissed the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a stroke, difficulty swallowing, vision disability, bilateral foot drop, memory loss, mental confusion, severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, and non-toxic thyroid enlargement as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a disability manifested by difficulty breathing was dismissed as the issue has been fully granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and remanded several issues related to interstitial lung disease, psychiatric disability, fatigue, vertigo, muscle disability, Raynaud's phenomenon, gastrointestinal disability, difficulty swallowing, headache, skin disability, blurred vision, upper respiratory symptoms, and vertigo as secondary conditions.
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