The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed low back condition and asbestos exposure-related respiratory/lung conditions.
The deciding factor: Additional medical records are needed to properly assess the Veteran's current diagnoses and their relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- spinal stenosis, residuals of asbestos exposure including COPD and oral/throat/lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2017
- Citation
- 1741239
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 1741239.
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 service connection claims for degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis, and bilateral lower extremity sciatica have been granted as they are related to his active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as lumbar strain, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, is causally related to service. As such, service connection for this condition is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome to include spinal stenosis and lumbar scoliosis, right knee total arthroplasty, and left knee strain are all granted service connection as directly related to his military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection regarding cervical strain with IVDS, spinal fusion, and spinal stenosis was dismissed because the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.
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