The Board remands the matter for a new VA examination to adequately assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected COPD with emphysema.
The deciding factor: A remand is necessary due to a pre-decision duty to assist error, as the January 2024 VA examiner did not report maximum oxygen consumption findings.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with emphysema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25033232
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 575 · Granted: 29% (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 A25033232.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's COPD is granted as service connected. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and loss of balance are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, but remanded the claim for COPD with emphysema due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing or following substantial gainful employment since January 1, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of COPD with emphysema to obtain a more adequate medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's in-service exposures and his current respiratory condition.
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