The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical nexus opinions regarding the Veteran's respiratory conditions, specifically chronic bronchitis, interstitial lung disease (ILD) with bronchiectasis, restrictive lung disease, and fibrosing mediastinitis. The examiner is required to provide an opinion on whether these conditions are related to service, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical opinions provided were insufficient due to their conclusory nature and did not consider all of the Veteran's in-service toxic exposure risk activities (TERAs).
- Claimed conditions
- chronic bronchitis, interstitial lung disease (ILD) with bronchiectasis, restrictive lung disease, fibrosing mediastinitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2026
- Citation
- A26002005
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 A26002005.
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 decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed chronic bronchitis. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which was denied in an initial decision. The VA examiner did not address the medical record indicating a current diagnosis of chronic bronchitis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for depression, Gram Positive Cocci Condition, chronic bronchitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and diseases of Keratinization due to untimely filing of the Decision Review Request.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic bronchitis, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for chronic bronchitis and remanded the issue of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to duty-to-assist errors.
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