The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, COPD, and low back strain due to inadequate opinions regarding the relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The VA examinations are needed to address the Veteran's contentions of secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not adequately consider all relevant evidence, including lay statements from the Veteran and his wife, regarding the relationships between his psychiatric disorder, COPD, and low back strain with his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive disorder, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Low back strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065547
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 remands the Veteran's claims for additional VA examinations to properly evaluate the current severity of her disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
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