The Board remands the claims for service connection for bronchitis, high blood pressure, and ringing in ears to cure pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors by scheduling a VA medical examination and obtaining an addendum opinion.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record at the time of the RO's decision on appeal met the low threshold to indicate an association triggering the duty to assist for each condition, but there is no adequate medical nexus opinion of record that addresses the Veteran's contentions. Therefore, all four elements of McLendon are met, and an examination is required on remand to fulfill the RO's duty to assist.
- Claimed conditions
- bronchitis, high blood pressure, ringing in ears (tinnitus)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25045537
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 31% (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 A25045537.
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 has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee condition, high blood pressure, and low back condition. Service connection was also denied for pseudofolliculitis barbae.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, chronic pain multiple joints, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and chronic bradycardia, acid reflux, bronchitis, and obstructive sleep apnea are remanded due to the presence of service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee condition. The reduction in rating for left ankle strain from 10 to zero percent was improper and restoration of the prior 10 percent rating is granted.
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