The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic pulmonary disease (COPD) to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding whether the COPD was aggravated by his service-connected asthma.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the previous VA medical opinions, which failed to address whether the Veteran's COPD was aggravated by his service-connected asthma.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25088436
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 913 · Granted: 41% (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 A25088436.
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 appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding no direct link between the Veteran's active-duty service and his current disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal was denied for increased rating for bilateral pes planus with DJD, service connection for emphysema and COPD, as well as Raynaud's disease. The case is remanded to the RO for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and clarifying diagnoses. The appellant is seeking service connection for a respiratory disability to include asbestosis and COPD.
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