The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for COPD is granted, and the appeal is allowed in part. The claims for service connection for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, fatty liver disease, GERD, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, and peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran presented new evidence that his diabetes or hypertension could cause or aggravate his COPD. This evidence is both new and material as it raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, fatty liver disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2022
- Citation
- 22010843
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 22010843.
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 claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
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