BVA decisions by condition
Bronchial asthma: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a bronchial asthma issue in 4,838 decisions. It granted the bronchial asthma issue in 21.0% of them, close to the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 30.2%, and remanded it in 47.8%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 41.0% were granted.
Decisions
4,838
2017–2026
Granted
21.0%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
41.0%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
47.8%
Denied: 30.2%
Bronchial asthma outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 274 | 8.8% | 36.1% | 50.0% | 5.1% |
| 2018 | 424 | 12.0% | 30.9% | 52.4% | 4.7% |
| 2019 | 530 | 13.6% | 28.9% | 54.5% | 3.0% |
| 2020 | 557 | 14.4% | 32.1% | 51.3% | 2.2% |
| 2021 | 544 | 17.1% | 31.8% | 48.9% | 2.2% |
| 2022 | 509 | 21.2% | 26.1% | 49.1% | 3.5% |
| 2023 | 575 | 25.9% | 23.7% | 48.7% | 1.7% |
| 2024 | 616 | 28.2% | 24.5% | 44.5% | 2.8% |
| 2025 | 710 | 27.3% | 34.9% | 35.5% | 2.3% |
| 2026 | 236 | 32.6% | 35.2% | 29.7% | 2.5% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied bronchial asthma decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the bronchial asthma issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 774 | 68.8% | 33.7% | +35.1 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 585 | 63.4% | 36.1% | +27.3 pts |
| Buddy statement | 144 | 64.9% | 40.2% | +24.7 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 341 | 61.5% | 38.8% | +22.7 pts |
| Combat service | 235 | 58.6% | 40.0% | +18.7 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 1,472 | 51.7% | 35.5% | +16.2 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 516 | 52.2% | 40.2% | +12.0 pts |
| Lay statement | 3,844 | 39.6% | 47.7% | −8.1 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 63.8% of the decisions that granted bronchial asthma.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 32.9% of grants and 11.3% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often bronchial asthma was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 2,364 | 42.0% | 40.0% | +2.0 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 3,562 | 38.8% | 50.4% | −11.6 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied bronchial asthma
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established108
- Presumptive service connection under 38 c.f.r. § 3.32023
- Presumption of soundness not rebutted23
- Presumed exposure to fine particulate matter15
- Pact act presumptive service connection for asthma14
- Caused by the service-connected disability12
- Service in southwest asia theater of operations12
- Service in southwest asia during persian gulf war11
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim124
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis121
- No current diagnosis116
- Service records negative or silent99
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service99
- Pulmonary function tests did not meet criteria for higher rating40
- Current diagnosis established33
- Criteria for service connection not met22
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent bronchial asthma decisions
Granted
Negative service treatment records.; Two unfavorable VA opinions.; Diagnosis shortly after service separation.; Credible lay evidence.; Approximate balance of evidence links asthma to service.
Favorable finding of current disability by AOJ; Lay statements of onset in service supported by STRs and commander's notation; VA clinician's opinion supported by probative evidence
Asthma rated under DC 6602; FEV-1 predicted at 55 percent post-bronchodilator; Requires daily inhalational bronchodilator therapy
Denied
No presumptive link to Camp Lejeune exposure under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(f); VA examiner opined less likely than not related to service; Lack of in-service diagnosis and symptoms onset years after service
Did not meet criteria for 60% rating; No evidence of monthly physician visits for exacerbations; No evidence of intermittent systemic corticosteroid use; Lay statements not competent for higher evaluation
No current diagnosis of asthma; VA examiner diagnosed chronic bronchitis instead; Veteran's lay statements not competent for diagnosis
Rules that apply to bronchial asthma claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your bronchial asthma case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a bronchial asthma issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.