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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified a contradiction in the AOJ's determinations regarding the Veteran's need for aid and assistance, which requires clarification. The remanded issues are entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another and on the basis of statutory housebound status.
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