The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA medical opinion to address the etiology of his lung disorder and clarify his history of smoking.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the current evidence does not provide sufficient clarity on the etiology of the Veteran's lung disorder and requires further clarification regarding his smoking history.
- Claimed conditions
- mild obstructive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2017
- Citation
- 1738412
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 1738412.
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 lung disability is remanded for a new medical opinion considering her service-related toxic exposure, including aerosolized mercury as a dental assistant and potential environmental exposures at Fort McClellan.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left shoulder strain and impingement syndrome and mild obstructive lung disease, but denied an increased rating for hypertension. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lung condition, to include pulmonary vasculature-lungs, sarcoidosis of lung with sarcoidosis of lymph nodes, mild obstructive lung disease, and multiple pulmonary masses/nodules with bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a bilateral lung condition due to insufficient evidence, specifically a lack of an opinion regarding whether his current lung conditions are related to service. The case will be returned for further development.
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