Citation Nr: 21032614 Decision Date: 05/27/21 Archive Date: 05/27/21 DOCKET NO. 15-05 521 DATE: May 27, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), claimed as due to asbestos exposure and/or as secondary to service-connected pleural plaques, is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for pleural plaques is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1968 to December 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued in December 2013 by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. In April 2014, the Veteran and his spouse testified at a hearing before a Decision Review Officer (DRO). A transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. In October 2018, the Board denied the claims on appeal. Subsequently, the Veteran appealed such decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In January 2020, the Court granted the Veteran's and the Secretary of VA's (the parties) Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), which vacated and remanded the Board's October 2018 decision for action consistent with the JMR. In July 2020 and December 2020, the Board remanded the appeal for additional development and it now returns for further appellate consideration. 1. Entitlement to service connection for COPD, claimed as due to asbestos exposure and/or as secondary service-connected pleural plaques. Throughout the appeal, the Veteran has maintained that his currently diagnosed COPD is related to his acknowledged in-service asbestos exposure. However, in his May 2021 Written Brief Presentation, the Veteran's representative introduced a new theory of entitlement as he alleged that the Veteran's COPD may be secondary to his service-connected pleural plaques. However, to date, no opinion addressing such theory of entitlement has been obtained. Consequently, the Board finds that a remand is necessary in order to do so. 2. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for pleural plaques. Pursuant to the December 2020 remand, the Veteran was most recently afforded a VA examination in February 2021 so as to address the current nature and severity of his pleural plaques. However, as his claim for an initial compensable rating for such disability is inextricably intertwined with the remanded claim for service connection for COPD as it may impact the assigned rating for his service-connected respiratory disability, such claim must likewise be remanded. See Tyrues v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 166, 177 (2009) (en banc) (explaining that claims are inextricably intertwined where the adjudication of one claim could have a significant impact on the adjudication of another claim); Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Forward the record, to include a copy of this remand, to an appropriate clinician to obtain an opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's COPD. Following a review of the record, the clinician should offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., a 50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's COPD is caused or aggravated by his service-connected pleural plaques. For any aggravation found, the examiner should state, to the best of their ability, the baseline of symptomatology and the amount, quantified if possible, of aggravation beyond the baseline symptomatology. A rationale for any opinion offered should be provided. A. JAEGER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Clark, Counsel 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.