The Board has granted service connection for colon cancer and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II. Service connection for COPD and asthma have been denied.
The deciding factor: Service connection is granted because the medical opinions indicate that the current conditions are due to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, which acts as a 'but-for' cause of the claimed disabilities under the legal precedent in Allen v. Brown (1995).
- Claimed conditions
- colon cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26005055
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 A26005055.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
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