The appeal for an earlier effective date and a compensable rating for chronic cough was denied, while the claims for service connection for lower back strain, spinal fusion surgery, L3-4 foraminotomy, L4-5 discectomy, and gout in the right foot were remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's chronic cough did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating as his pulmonary function test results did not indicate an FEV-1 of 71 to 80 percent predicted or a DLCO (SB) of 66 to 80 percent predicted. The claims for service connection were remanded due to their complexity and need for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic cough, lower back strain, spinal fusion surgery, L3-4 foraminotomy, L4-5 discectomy, gout, right foot
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25103665
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (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 A25103665.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for PTSD and a chronic cough are being remanded due to an error in providing notice of the right to a hearing before the RO.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding service connection for bilateral hearing loss and chronic cough, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a chronic cough disability was granted with an effective date of January 1, 2002. This decision is based on the addition of relevant service department records that were not considered in prior decisions.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is denied as not meeting VA criteria for a disability.,The Veteran's left ACL tear, right ankle sprain, lower back strain, and right shoulder strain are all denied as not meeting VA criteria for a disability.
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