The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete records and need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as there are gaps in the record, particularly regarding SSA records and police officer's employment records. The VA also needs to determine if nicotine dependence originated during service or post-service smoking resulted from it.
- Claimed conditions
- emphysema with COPD, nicotine dependence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2004
- Citation
- 0430617
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 0430617.
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 cervical arthritis is granted as service connected due to neck pain that began during active duty.,Service connection for emphysema with COPD is granted based on conceded garrison exposures, including jet fuel.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain missing National Guard records, including those from his time in the Alabama Army National Guard.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability, other than unspecified anxiety disorder with alcohol use disorder, as an adequate opinion is necessary to determine its etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's emphysema with COPD was granted service connection and an initial rating of 60 percent, effective April 29, 2019. The current rating remains at 60 percent.
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