The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate rationale in the VA examination regarding the Veteran's lung disability and its relation to service. The examiner did not discuss the Veteran's exposure to chemicals during service, including asbestos.
The deciding factor: The VA examination report is inadequate as it does not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s diagnosed lung disability is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by established in-service chemical exposure, including asbestos.
- Claimed conditions
- lung disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- A20015541
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 denied ratings in excess of 30 percent for bilateral foot disability, a rating in excess of 30 percent for left knee disability, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for lung disability. However, it granted an effective date of December 17, 2012, but no earlier, for the award service connection for limitation of extension of the left knee and left knee scar, and granted TDIU from January 17, 2013 to November 5, 2018.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected scar, status-post appendectomy, but denied all other claims for increased ratings and service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for lung disability to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's lung conditions, including COPD and biapical lung scarring.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, lung disability, and heart disability. The claims for migraines/sinus headaches, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and sleep apnea were remanded for further development.
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