The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current respiratory disorders are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner only addressed the relationship between the Veteran’s current emphysema and in-service respiratory illnesses, leaving room for further examination.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2018
- Citation
- 18140295
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 18140295.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's respiratory condition and his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for non-allergic rhinitis, denied service connection for gastrointestinal anal cancer, and granted service connection for chronic bronchitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and a TDIU, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
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