The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected shell fragment wound to the left thigh involving muscle group XIV is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and updated treatment records.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the veteran's claim, including appropriate VA examinations and updated medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound to the left thigh involving muscle group XIV, numbness of the left thigh
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0402976
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0402976.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's current disabilities of Dupuytren's contracture, scarring, decreased sensation in the left hand, and meralgia paresthetica affecting the left thigh are found to be related to his in-service electric shock injury. Service connection is granted for these conditions.
- Denied
The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of numbness of the left thigh and burn scar of the left thigh were denied by the Board. The veteran is assigned a 30 percent evaluation for numbness of the left thigh, but no compensable evaluation was granted for the burn scar.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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