The Board denied service connection for emphysema as it was not etiologically related to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The medical examiner opined that smoking, rather than herbicide exposure, is a known cause of emphysema and there is no medically known connection between emphysema and exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- emphysema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25056216
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for Parkinson's disease, emphysema, muscle cramps, bilateral shoulder disability, and neck disability. However, it granted service connection for peripheral vascular disease and asthma.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, emphysema, a chest wall condition, PTSD, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, chronic, a low back condition, TBI, and a chest tumor.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for bradycardia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, emphysema, hypothyroidism, polypectomy, prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis as new and relevant evidence was not received. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability is remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during its pendency.
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