The Veteran's respiratory condition, including emphysema and COPD, is found to be related to his military service. The heart condition is also found to be related to his military service.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted for the respiratory condition due to the Veteran's exposure to environmental exposures in Vietnam, which contributed to his pulmonary condition. For the heart condition, the Board found that there were no records indicating ischemic heart disease but noted chronic ischemic changes and requested a supplemental opinion from a VA examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory condition, heart condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20081857
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 20081857.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD was granted with an initial evaluation of 50 percent, effective September 24, 2007. The appeal regarding the heart condition and sleep disorder is denied. The Veteran's hearing loss prior to August 24, 2015, warrants a 20 percent rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's respiratory condition, including COPD, is remanded due to errors in obtaining SSA records and an inadequate TERA memo. The Board finds the AOJ erred by not attempting to obtain relevant SSA records and by relying on an incomplete TERA memo.
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