The Board remands the claim for a respiratory disorder, including COPD, to obtain additional evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to toxic substances during service.
The deciding factor: An additional medical opinion is required due to an inadequate VA examination and the need to consider all in-service toxic exposures under the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disorder, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25047170
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 service connection and increased ratings due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a respiratory disorder, heart disorder, diabetes mellitus type II, and hypertension, as well as entitlement to a special monthly pension, due to insufficient evidence regarding in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's motion for revision based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in an April 2022 rating decision, as it was not properly raised with the AOJ first.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and panic disorder, but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and a respiratory disorder.
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