The Board is remanding the case for further development, including verifying the veteran's exposure to toxins during his service in the South Pacific and obtaining a medical opinion on the relationship between his in-service lung conditions and his later pulmonary fibrosis.
The deciding factor: The VA General Counsel requested additional evidence regarding the veteran's exposure to toxins during service in the South Pacific and for a medical opinion addressing the relationship between his in-service lung conditions and his later pulmonary fibrosis.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2000
- Citation
- 0003696
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 0003696.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary fibrosis, finding it to be related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis, finding no current diagnosis of the condition and that it was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of a lung disability, claimed as pulmonary fibrosis, for further development and evidence review.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a conclusion that his service-connected conditions prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
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