The Board denied service connection for hypertension, COPD, and a bilateral elbow disability due to presumed herbicide exposure.,Service connection was not granted as the evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of chronic disease in service that could be linked to current hypertension, COPD, or elbow disability. The Board found that the Veteran’s current conditions were more likely due to his own smoking habits rather than any event or incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Bilateral Elbow Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081517
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.
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- 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 asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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