The Board has denied service connection for a lower respiratory disability, to include COPD and pulmonary emboli. The Veteran's bilateral hand conditions have been remanded due to the lack of a competent medical opinion linking his current disabilities to his active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no current disabilities related to the Veteran’s claimed bilateral hand condition and did not provide an etiological opinion for the Veteran’s bilateral hand condition.
- Claimed conditions
- lower respiratory disability, joint pain of the right hand, joint pain of the left hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20051101
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20051101.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient development regarding presumed herbicide exposure and the Veteran's presence on Okinawa. The claims will be reconsidered after further development.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The petition to reopen the previously denied claim for service connection for a lower respiratory disability is denied. The claims of entitlement to service connection for right foot and right hip disabilities are remanded, as well as the claim for a higher rating for left knee disability.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's hypertension was first manifest during active duty and the Board has determined that it had causal origins in service. The low back disability, sleep apnea, and lower respiratory disability are not currently decided.
- Whole decision: 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.
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