The Board remanded the claim for service connection of breathing issues, including restrictive lung disease. The Veteran's exposure to burn pits during his deployment to Afghanistan is a key factor.
The deciding factor: The Board found the May 2023 VA opinion incomplete because it did not adequately consider the Veteran's exposure to burn pits as a potential cause of his restrictive lung disease.
- Claimed conditions
- breathing issues, restrictive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25004458
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 A25004458.
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 Veteran's claim for specially adapted housing is remanded due to a lack of a VA examination, which was a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Board must now schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine if his service-connected asthma with restrictive lung disease and chronic hypoxic respiratory failure qualifies him for specially adapted housing.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed as moot because the Veteran's service-connected disabilities resulted in a combined schedular evaluation of at least 70% prior to October 15, 2024, and he was able to maintain employment despite his conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his service-connected disabilities and thus denied DIC benefits. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded due to a lack of a medical opinion regarding the etiology.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for breathing issues and obstructive sleep apnea have been denied as there is no persuasive evidence of a current disability.
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