Citation Nr: 21012564
Decision Date: 03/04/21	Archive Date: 03/04/21

DOCKET NO. 17-19 374
DATE: March 4, 2021

ORDER

The appeal for service connection for respiratory condition, having been granted in full, is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The appeal for service connection for respiratory condition was granted in a December 2020 rating decision as service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

2. There remains no question of fact or law to be decided by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) concerning the question of service connection for respiratory condition.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

There being no question of fact or law to be decided by the Board, the appeal of the issue of entitlement to service connection for respiratory condition is dismissed.  38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.205.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active duty in the U.S. Air Force from January 1967 to January 1971.  

The Veteran previously requested a hearing related to his appeal.  However, in January 2020, he withdrew his hearing request.

The issue was previously before the Board in February 2020 and July 2020, where it was remanded for additional adjudication.

Service connection for respiratory condition

The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed.  See 38 U.S.C. § 7105.  Since the last Board remand, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) granted service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at 100 percent disabling, effective September 28, 2020, in a  December 2020 rating decision.     

The award of service connection for respiratory condition represents a full grant of the pertinent benefits sought on appeal, and therefore, no additional benefits are available to the Veteran under relevant VA law. The Veteran has not challenged the evaluation or the effective date assigned.

The Board notes that the original claim is listed as service connection for respiratory condition, to include sleep apnea.  However, per the July 2020 Board remand, a VA examiner was asked to identify all current respiratory disabilities and the AOJ directed to adjudicate these disabilities.  A diagnosis of COPD was found upon VA examination.  Subsequently, the service connection claim for respiratory condition, to include sleep apnea, was adjudicated as service connection for COPD.  Hence, the Board finds it is appropriate to recharacterize the claim more broadly as one of entitlement to service connection for a respiratory condition.  

Accordingly, the Board finds that the benefit sought on appeal has already been granted, and there remains no question of fact or law to be decided by the Board concerning the issue of service connection for respiratory condition.  For these reasons, the appeal with respect to the claim for service connection for respiratory condition must be dismissed.  See 38 U.S.C. § 7105. 

 

L. M. BARNARD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Lee

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.