Citation Nr: 21066033
Decision Date: 10/28/21	Archive Date: 10/28/21

DOCKET NO. 15-46 983
DATE: October 28, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to include as due to asbestos exposure and as secondary to service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD), is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1969 to December 1972.

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2013 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO.

A Board hearing was held before the undersigned in May 2019. A transcript of the hearing is of record.

This matter was previously before the Board in March 2020 when it was remanded for further development.  

 

Entitlement to service connection for COPD, to include as due to asbestos exposure and as secondary to CAD, is remanded.

Although the additional delay is regrettable, the Board finds another remand is required before a decision can be made on the Veteran's claim. In an August 2021 Appellate brief, the Veteran's representative raised the contention that the Veteran's COPD may have been aggravated by a service-connected disability. As the record reflects that the Veteran is service-connected for CAD, the Board finds remand for a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's COPD is secondary to his service-connected CAD is warranted.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any updated VA treatment records for the period from September 2020 to the present.

2. After obtaining any additional records, return the Veteran's claims file to the June 2020 VA examiner (or another examiner if the June 2020 examiner is unavailable) for an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's COPD. An examination should only be scheduled if the examiner deems one is necessary for providing the requested opinion.

Following a review of the Veteran's claims file, the examiner is asked to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) the Veteran's COPD was caused or aggravated (any increase in severity beyond natural progression) by his service-connected coronary artery disease. 

A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If the clinician cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the clinician must provide the reasons why an opinion would require speculation. The clinician must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. Additionally, the clinician must indicate whether an opinion could not be rendered due to limitations of knowledge in the medical community at large and not those of the particular examiner.

 

 

M. SORISIO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Jiggetts

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.