The Veteran's claim for service connection for acute bronchitis is being remanded due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors, requiring a VA medical opinion.
The deciding factor: There are pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors in the case that require a VA medical opinion to provide an adequate opinion on direct causation of the claimed condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute Bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2026
- Citation
- A26013350
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 A26013350.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for allergic rhinitis and denied service connection for left ear hearing loss, while dismissing the appeal for sinusitis. The claims for initial disability ratings for acute bronchitis and right knee osteoarthritis were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis, and COPD as there is no evidence of a current respiratory condition related to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type 2, is currently rated at 20 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,For service connection claims for basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, pulmonary crystal on lung, and acute bronchitis due to herbicide exposure, further examination and opinion are needed.
- Granted
The Board found that the Veteran's continued medical emergency warranted payment or reimbursement for his treatment at a non-VA facility from January 28 through February 3, 2010. The VA clinic was available and the Veteran did not want to transfer.
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