The veteran is seeking service connection for a pulmonary disability, including residuals of left lung lobectomy and recurrent pneumonia. The appeal will be remanded to allow for further development, including a VA medical examination.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed due to the lack of definitive evidence linking the veteran's current pulmonary disorders to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary disability, residuals of left lung lobectomy, recurrent pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2004
- Citation
- 0400358
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0400358.
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 has determined that the Veteran's pulmonary disability, including asthma and COPD, is causally related to his toxic exposure risk activity during service. The decision grants service connection for these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining necessary medical records and providing VA examinations. The claims will be reconsidered with these corrections.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for prostatitis, HIV, CHF, GERD, herpes, a pulmonary disability, headaches, and type 2 diabetes mellitus as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability or a nexus to service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The case is remanded to determine whether special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1114(s) and 38 CFR 3.350(i) was in effect from July 19, 2023, to May 31, 2024.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.