The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate VA examination and a need for updated private treatment records. The Veteran's respiratory condition is being reviewed again to determine its etiology.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examination was insufficient as it did not provide a nexus opinion, which is required by law in cases of service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory condition (claimed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD))
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20067556
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 20067556.
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 a failure to obtain an opinion as to whether the Veteran's COPD was caused or otherwise related to service on a direct basis, including as due to in-service treatment for sinus congestion and productive cough on June 18, 1967.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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