The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete compliance with previous directives and insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's pulmonary disability. The VA needs to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA examiner to determine if the Veteran's pulmonary disability is caused by service or service-connected conditions, including exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the AOJ did not comply with previous directives and provided insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's pulmonary disability. The case needs to be remanded for an addendum VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2023
- Citation
- 23023165
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 23023165.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's pulmonary disability, including asthma and COPD, is causally related to his toxic exposure risk activity during service. The decision grants service connection for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for prostatitis, HIV, CHF, GERD, herpes, a pulmonary disability, headaches, and type 2 diabetes mellitus as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability or a nexus to service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The case is remanded to determine whether special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1114(s) and 38 CFR 3.350(i) was in effect from July 19, 2023, to May 31, 2024.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of the claimed conditions and their relationship to service-connected disabilities.
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