The Veteran's lung condition, including centrolobular emphysema, is being remanded for further examination and analysis to determine if it is related to service or his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's lung condition, including centrolobular emphysema, had its onset during service, was caused by his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease, or has been permanently worsened beyond normal progression.
- Claimed conditions
- centrilobular emphysema
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186902
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 19186902.
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 right ear hearing loss and denied service connection for basal cell carcinoma, sleep apnea, and centrilobular emphysema.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding service connection for a lung disability, other than lung cancer. The Veteran's lung disabilities include centrilobular emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's lung disability, specifically his centrilobular emphysema. The VA needs to provide additional opinions addressing both exposure to aviation fuel and herbicides (Agent Orange).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's pulmonary disability and its relationship to service exposure. The VA needs to obtain updated medical records, schedule a new examination, and provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's current conditions are related to his service.
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