The Board has determined that additional development is needed to evaluate the veteran's service-connected gastrointestinal resection with adhesions and abdominal wall muscle injury, as the current examination reports do not include specific clinical findings necessary for rating purposes.
The deciding factor: Additional VA examinations are required to provide specific clinical findings related to the severity of the veteran's service-connected conditions and their impact on his ability to work.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal resection with adhesions, gunshot wound, moderately severe muscle injury of the abdominal wall
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2003
- Citation
- 0320888
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 0320888.
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 remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to ensure all available service treatment records are obtained and an additional medical opinion is provided.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal to reopen a previously denied claim for service connection of residuals from a gunshot wound to the left leg has been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his request.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his service-connected right index finger, long finger, ring finger, and little finger disabilities were denied. A separate rating of 10 percent was granted for degenerative arthritis in the right ring and little fingers effective October 11, 2013.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his gunshot wound to the right arm was granted, with a 30% rating being assigned. The previous noncompensable rating has been revised.
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