The Board denied service connection for COPD and hypertension, finding that the conditions were not caused or aggravated by service-connected diabetes mellitus type II. The effective date of a 100% disability rating for PTSD was also denied.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking COPD and/or hypertension to service or service-connected diabetes mellitus type II on either a direct or secondary basis, and the conditions were not shown to be related to service within one year of separation.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081106
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's respiratory condition and his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- 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 Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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