The veteran's claim of entitlement to special monthly pension is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his osteopenia.
The deciding factor: Further evidence and development are needed as per the VCAA requirements.
- Claimed conditions
- osteopenia, chronic pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0403304
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0403304.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's service connection claim for spina bifida occulta with degenerative arthritis and osteopenia is remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of his pre-existing condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ made a duty to assist error by failing to obtain an opinion on whether the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with osteopenia and spondylosis is due to or aggravated by his service-connected feet disabilities. The claim is being remanded for this purpose.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for osteopenia, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected prostate cancer.
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.