The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding records and a need for medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to obtain missing Reserve service treatment records, complete asbestos exposure development, and provide a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's death was related to his military service or any other exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, pulmonary fibrosis, eosinophilic granuloma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2017
- Citation
- 1755764
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 1755764.
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 causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining signed consent forms and an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lung complications.
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