The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and medical opinions to address whether the Veteran's lung cancer is related to his service-connected COPD or environmental exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found insufficient evidence to establish a clinical correlation between the lung cancer and COPD, but conceded that exposure to carcinogens during service may have contributed to the Veteran’s risk of developing lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer, obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19133116
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.