The Board remands the claim for a respiratory disorder to obtain additional evidence and an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's service connection theory, including direct service connection and secondary service connection due to his service-connected lung cancer.
The deciding factor: The July 2021 VA examiner's opinion is inconsistent with the Veteran's account of symptom onset in the 1970s, necessitating clarification or a new opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disorder, claimed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and/or asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2024
- Citation
- 24001499
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 remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a respiratory disorder, heart disorder, diabetes mellitus type II, and hypertension, as well as entitlement to a special monthly pension, due to insufficient evidence regarding in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's motion for revision based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in an April 2022 rating decision, as it was not properly raised with the AOJ first.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and panic disorder, but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and a respiratory disorder.
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