The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death and his exposure to burn pits during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address the appellant’s contention that pulmonary fibrosis may be a refractory disease that does not become active for 10 to 45 years post-exposure, nor did they discuss environmental exposures and their role in respiratory diseases.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19102952
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19102952.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
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