The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to inadequate opinions in the February 2017 VA examination report, particularly regarding causation and aggravation of the claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for additional medical opinions addressing causation and aggravation of the Veteran's respiratory disability related to his service-connected coronary artery disease and bypass surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- elevated left hemidiaphragm
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19165846
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19165846.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his service-connected elevated left hemidiaphragm and sinusitis have been dismissed as he has withdrawn them.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions regarding his left shoulder disability and elevated left hemidiaphragm.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for elevated left hemidiaphragm is granted with an effective date of September 2, 1982. The Board found that the disability had been present since at least 1970 and was related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.