The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to obtain additional medical opinions regarding their relationship to toxic exposure during military service.
The deciding factor: The opinions provided by the VA examiners were found inadequate due to a lack of meaningful review of the claims file and failure to address specific exposures as required by the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act (PACT Act).
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25038055
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 Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
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