The Board has determined that there is a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the case and requires a VA examination and opinion on remand. The Veteran's respiratory and sinus disabilities are related to his service due to exposure to toxins during active duty.
The deciding factor: The PACT Act requires a VA examination for veterans who participated in TERA, and such examination must consider all toxic exposures and their combined effects.
- Claimed conditions
- sinus condition, respiratory condition
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072433
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24072433.
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 has determined that the VA examination provided in April 2024 was inadequate for adjudication purposes and remands the case for a new examination to determine if the Veteran's sinus condition is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's respiratory condition, including COPD, is remanded due to errors in obtaining SSA records and an inadequate TERA memo. The Board finds the AOJ erred by not attempting to obtain relevant SSA records and by relying on an incomplete TERA memo.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sinus condition, left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and sleep apnea as there was no current disability related to these conditions during the pendency of the claim. The Veteran's self-reported symptoms were not supported by medical evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran requested to withdraw all his appeals for service connection of sinus condition, migraine condition, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). As a result, the Board dismissed these claims.
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