The Board remands the matter for another VA medical opinion to address the Veteran's in-service toxic exposure, including asbestos and other claimed exposures.
The deciding factor: The April 2024 VA medical opinion did not comply with the requirements of the PACT Act, as it did not consider the total potential exposure through all applicable military deployments and the synergistic, combined effects of all toxic exposure risk activities for the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disease, Pulmonary hypertension, Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Right heart failure
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2025
- Citation
- 25007819
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 further development, including obtaining additional medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and right hand scar, but denied service connection for other claimed conditions including diabetes type II, erectile dysfunction, headaches, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, left shoulder injury, left hand injury, lower back injury, right shoulder injury, upper back injury, and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for heart disease was dismissed, and the claims for erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and COPD were denied. The claim for chronic hip pain was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 3, 2017 and refers the claim for service connection for heart disease back to the AOJ.
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