The Board remands the matter for additional development, including obtaining addendum opinions regarding whether the Veteran's COPD is etiologically related to in-service inhalation of chemical substances and toxic exposure risk activity (TERA), specifically asbestos exposure.
The deciding factor: The May 2024 VA examiner's opinion was found inadequate due to reliance on a lack of additional treatment records, inaccurate factual premises regarding TERA participation, and failure to consider the Veteran's lay reports and conceded asbestos exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disorder, to include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2025
- Citation
- 25006302
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 833 · Granted: 33% (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 25006302.
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 service connection for hypertension was dismissed as the benefit sought has been granted in full. The appeal for a respiratory disorder, to include COPD, was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) memorandum. The Veteran's respiratory disorder, to include COPD, will be examined by VA to determine its onset during service or its relation to in-service exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations were not conducted as per remand instructions and thus, the claims for service connection are being returned to the AOJ for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a right knee disability and a respiratory disorder, to include COPD, due to incomplete VA records and insufficient credibility findings in previous determinations.
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