The Board denied service connection for an upper respiratory disability and a left forearm disability, finding that the Veteran's assertions of continuous symptoms since service were not credible due to the absence of contemporaneous medical notation. The Board also found no causal relationship between the in-service events and the current disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the Veteran's current respiratory and forearm conditions and his military service, given the lack of documented complaints or treatment for these conditions until many years after separation from active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- upper respiratory disability, left forearm disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2026
- Citation
- 26002267
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 26002267.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for an upper respiratory disability and a left forearm disability for additional medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hyperlipidemia and remanded the claims for periodic limb movement disorder, sleep condition, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, upper respiratory disability, elevated blood pressure, elevated prostate condition, fatigue, right hip condition, dizziness, fainting, or loss of consciousness, pneumonia/dyspnea, and skin, malignant neoplasm.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for lower lumbar disability, upper respiratory disability, and bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an upper respiratory disability and denied increased ratings for PTSD, CFS, and other conditions.
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