The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's emphysema, to include pulmonary nodules, and its relation to exposure from burn pits in Southwest Asia during service.
The deciding factor: The previous medical opinion did not adequately address the Veteran's contention that his condition is related to exposure to burn pits and toxic chemical fumes during service.
- Claimed conditions
- emphysema, pulmonary nodules
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25040861
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for Parkinson's disease, emphysema, muscle cramps, bilateral shoulder disability, and neck disability. However, it granted service connection for peripheral vascular disease and asthma.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, emphysema, a chest wall condition, PTSD, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, chronic, a low back condition, TBI, and a chest tumor.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for bradycardia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, emphysema, hypothyroidism, polypectomy, prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis as new and relevant evidence was not received. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability is remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during its pendency.
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