The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including emphysema, COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: A remand is warranted as there is a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The TERA memorandum only addressed water contamination in Camp Lejeune, while the Veteran claimed exposure to various other toxins, and the VA examiners did not address his claimed exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), type II diabetes mellitus (diabetes mellitus), hypertension, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25085537
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · Granted: 37% (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 A25085537.
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 hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
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