The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, adenocarcinoma of the lung, and scar, s/p left lower lobectomy to correct a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions are inadequate as they failed to provide opinions with rationale addressing whether the Veteran's conditions are otherwise related to or had onset during active service.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), hypothyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), adenocarcinoma of the lung (also claimed as lung cancer and mild emphysema in lungs), scar, s/p left lower lobectomy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25048521
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on the Veteran's exposure to in-service chemical agents.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as the appellant does not have a documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s).
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