The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical records and to provide the Veteran with examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed lumbar spine disability and COPD.
The deciding factor: The current evidence does not contain sufficient detail or information upon which to base a decision regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection. Additional examination is needed to address the etiology of his low back disability, and additional medical records are required to determine if he has any asbestos-related respiratory disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2013
- Citation
- 1320737
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 1320737.
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 Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for right foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is granted with an effective date of July 25, 2023.,The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for left foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is dismissed as it does not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date.
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