The Board has determined that the veteran's respiratory disorders, including pulmonary fibrosis and ventilatory defect, may be related to radiation exposure in service. However, there is no documented record of radiation exposure during his service. The claim will be remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between the veteran's current respiratory disorders and his period of active service due to lack of documentation of radiation exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disorder, pulmonary fibrosis, ventilatory defect
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2004
- Citation
- 0406460
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 292 · Granted: 21% (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 0406460.
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 Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection must be remanded due to inadequate examinations and opinions. The Veteran's skin disorder, respiratory disorder, Crohn's disease, eye disorder, and migraines are all being reviewed again with new medical evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining signed consent forms and an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lung complications.
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