The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain TERA opinions for the Veteran's heart disability and pleural calcifications, as there are pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the current VA opinions. The claims will be adjudicated again with these new opinions.
The deciding factor: The previous VA opinions did not adequately address the synergistic, combined effects of all toxic exposure risk activities (TERAs) on the Veteran's heart disability and pleural calcifications.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, to include arteriosclerotic heart disease (coronary artery disease) status post coronary artery bypass graft, stable angina, and heart block, pleural calcifications
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2024
- Citation
- A24042734
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 A24042734.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable disability rating for pleural calcifications has been withdrawn by the Veteran and is therefore dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for open-angle glaucoma is remanded due to a duty to assist error.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than April 26, 2021, for the award of a 100 percent rating for respiratory disability is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for restrictive lung disease and pleural calcifications, as due to in-service asbestos exposure. The decision is based on direct evidence linking his current conditions to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examination is inadequate and requires a remand to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's respiratory condition.
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