The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional error in the duty to assist, specifically regarding the verification of the Veteran's service during post-1945 voyages. The AOJ must engage the Department of Homeland Security to verify whether the Veteran was serving as part of the United States Coast Guard or Coast Guard Reserve during these voyages.
The deciding factor: The pre-decisional error involves the lack of verification of the Veteran's service status during post-1945 voyages, which is a critical factor in determining his eligibility for VA benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Asthma, Anoxia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2021
- Citation
- A21020589
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 A21020589.
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 Veteran's asthma is currently rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board finds that this rating adequately compensates his service-connected condition.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand several cases related to the Veteran's PTSD, asthma, and other conditions. The issues include increased disability ratings for PTSD and asthma, as well as effective date determinations.
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