The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for further medical examinations and development of evidence.
The deciding factor: Further examination is required to determine if nicotine dependence had its onset during active duty, and whether current cardiovascular disease and chronic pulmonary disease are related to tobacco use during service.
- Claimed conditions
- nicotine dependence, cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2003
- Citation
- 0319067
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 0319067.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to a procedural defect in compliance with claims-processing rules. The VA Form 10182 submitted by the Veteran attempted a concurrent election, which is prohibited.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error regarding the Veteran's exposure to asbestos and Agent Orange during service. The claims are now pending for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to June 12, 2018, for the grant of service connection for transient global amnesia (also claimed as memory loss) was denied. The Board also denied service connection for cardiovascular disease.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal because his VA Form 9 was not timely filed within 60 days of receiving the January 2018 Statement of the Case (SOC). The Board found that the SOC was properly mailed to the Veteran and his representative at their known addresses.
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