The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for further medical examination and opinion regarding the relationship between her current conditions and service or a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: Further evaluation is needed to determine if any of the claimed conditions are related to service or a service-connected disability, including obesity as an intermediate step for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- periodontal disease (to include gingivitis), hypercholesterolemia, fibrosing mediastinitis (FM), asthma, pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary nodules, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, diabetes mellitus, type 2
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23041537
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 23041537.
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 respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of sleep apnea and asthma due to a failure to provide proper notice for a hearing.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as service connected. The Veteran's infectious disease claim and stomach disability claim are remanded for further examination.
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