The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination and consideration of new evidence.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for further evaluation and review of the claim due to newly received evidence and the possibility of a link between COPD/emphysema and military service exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD/emphysema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2009
- Citation
- 0949075
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 0949075.
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.
- Partly granted
The 100 percent rating for lung cancer was discontinued effective November 1, 2024, as the Veteran's lung cancer is in remission and no longer active. The claim for a compensable disability rating for lung cancer residuals has been remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for left knee disability, an acquired psychiatric disability (claimed as a suicide attempt), and left shoulder disability. The claim for COPD/emphysema was remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD/emphysema, finding that new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim. The Board also found a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim based on exposure to smoke during a fire aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in December 1967.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disabilities (TDIU) is granted effective April 26, 2000. The Veteran's claims for service connection for COPD/emphysema, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and carotid artery disease are denied.
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