The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's respiratory diseases, including COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and reactive lung disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide opinions on all of the Veteran's diagnoses or address the nexus between his in-service shortness of breath and his current diagnoses.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, reactive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104364
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 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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's COPD precluded him from obtaining and maintaining substantial gainful employment, warranting a Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary fibrosis, finding it to be related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam.
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