The Board granted service connection for asthma from August 10, 2022, based on the Veteran's presumed exposure to burn pit smoke during his deployment in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's asthma is presumed to be related to his conceded exposure to fine particulate matter, burn pits, and other environmental toxins during his deployments to Kuwait and Afghanistan in 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, sleep apnea, hypertension (claimed as high blood pressure), plantar fasciitis, degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine (claimed as lower back pain), right hip disorder, left hip disorder, right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right leg numbness, left leg numbness
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25054345
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 claim for a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent disability rating for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder with major depressive disorder, recurrent, and alcohol use disorder in early remission, as well as TDIU due to asthma and SMC at the housebound rate.
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