The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. A new VA examination is required to clarify this issue.
The deciding factor: The examiner must provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected condition was caused by exposure to chemicals at Camp Lejeune and/or herbicide agents, including aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, Interstitial pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2023
- Citation
- 23049348
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 23049348.
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 granted service connection for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis as secondary to in-service exposure to toxins from explosives and mortars, and for bladder cancer as secondary to in-service exposure to forever chemicals.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 12, 2019, for the grant of service connection for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis based on a liberalizing law.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) prior to June 12, 2024, and denied all other claims including service connection for various respiratory conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 60 percent for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, effective August 10, 2022.
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