The Veteran's respiratory disorder, including obstructive airway disease, is presumed to have been incurred in Southwest Asia due to exposure to burn pits during service. The Board found reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran and granted service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's symptoms were exacerbated by her deployment in Southwest Asia, which included significant exposures to sand, dust, heat, and smoke from burn pit fires.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory disorder, Obstructive airway disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 11, 2022
- Citation
- 22039354
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 22039354.
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 of service connection for a respiratory disorder, including claims related to asbestos exposure and claimed ionizing radiation exposure. The evidence did not support a link between any in-service exposures and the current diagnoses.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's respiratory disorder, including pulmonary hypertension, restrictive and obstructive lung diseases, sarcoidosis, and other conditions are remanded for further development to determine the nature and etiology of his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a respiratory disorder secondary to asbestos exposure in service due to pre-decisional errors and the need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to a pre-decisional error in failing to provide the Veteran with a VA mental disorders examination and not obtaining complete VA treatment records.
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