The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left nephrectomy and chronic bronchitis due to insufficient medical opinions regarding service connection. The VA will obtain SSA records, schedule a new examination for the left kidney condition, and provide an opinion on whether the conditions are related to service or Gulf War exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current medical opinions were inadequate and did not address pertinent medical findings from service and post-service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- left nephrectomy, chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2018
- Citation
- 18130545
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 18130545.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed chronic bronchitis. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which was denied in an initial decision. The VA examiner did not address the medical record indicating a current diagnosis of chronic bronchitis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for depression, Gram Positive Cocci Condition, chronic bronchitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and diseases of Keratinization due to untimely filing of the Decision Review Request.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic bronchitis, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for chronic bronchitis and remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to duty-to-assist errors.
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