The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to determine if his restrictive lung disease is related to service, specifically exposure to chemicals and fumes from burning oil wells during his military service. The VA will obtain all relevant records and schedule the Veteran for a new examination.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to confirm the Veteran's exposure to hazardous substances during service before determining whether his current condition is related to that exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- restrictive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2010
- Citation
- 1010009
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 1010009.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for specially adapted housing is remanded due to a lack of a VA examination, which was a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Board must now schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine if his service-connected asthma with restrictive lung disease and chronic hypoxic respiratory failure qualifies him for specially adapted housing.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed as moot because the Veteran's service-connected disabilities resulted in a combined schedular evaluation of at least 70% prior to October 15, 2024, and he was able to maintain employment despite his conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his service-connected disabilities and thus denied DIC benefits. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded due to a lack of a medical opinion regarding the etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinion in the July 2024 VA examination, which did not consider the Veteran's lay contentions regarding his symptom onset and failed to provide a 'synergistic' and 'combined effect' analysis of all toxic exposure risk activities.
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.