Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lung condition, to include COPD, on an accrued basis as a substitute party due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to broadly construe the Veteran's claim and did not obtain a medical nexus opinion prior to issuing the June 2019 rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- 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
- November 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25097970
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