The Veteran's disability rating for a respiratory condition is restored to 60 percent effective May 1, 2016. The claim for service connection of a psychiatric disability has been reopened due to new and material evidence. The claims for service connection of the respiratory and psychiatric disabilities are remanded for further examination and review.
The deciding factor: The reduction in rating was improper as there is no medical evidence showing improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work, despite improved pulmonary function test results.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory Disability (Bronchial Asthma/COPD), Psychiatric Disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20032125
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 20032125.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the onset and causation of the Veteran's OSA. The AOJ is required to obtain an addendum opinion from a qualified examiner to address these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in duty to assist and insufficient opinions. The issues include OSA with obesity as an intermediate step, and a psychiatric disability related to migraine with vertigo.
- Granted
The Veteran's psychiatric disability, hypertension, and bladder cancer are granted service connection. The Board has remanded the cases for further development regarding herbicide exposure claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a psychiatric disability, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his active duty service.
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