The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disability, including bronchitis and COPD, as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease that led to the current condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current respiratory disability - diagnosed as COPD - was less likely than not due to his service, citing a lack of chronicity during service and the Veteran's history of smoking as significant risk factors for COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory disability (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25110171
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 A25110171.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a respiratory disability, finding the evidence did not support a direct link between the Veteran's service and his current COPD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for birth defects, COPD, and arthritis with bone disease are being remanded due to the need for further development.,Service connection is not granted as there is no direct evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for right lower extremity neurological disability and respiratory disability due to additional development being necessary. The Veteran's service connection claims are not about exposure to lead, asbestos or environmental contaminants.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded four issues: service connection for a left knee disability, hypertension, sleep apnea, and a respiratory disability other than sleep apnea. The Veteran's varicose veins are the basis for these claims.
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