The veteran's claims for increased ratings are being remanded to the RO for further development, including a VA examination and review of his medical history.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for additional evidence and development as required by the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA).
- Claimed conditions
- scar below the left scapula, scar to the dorsum of the left hand, onychomycosis of the feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0403309
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0403309.
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 a low back disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disorder and assigned an initial 30 percent disability rating for onychomycosis of the feet, but denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and rating increases have been dismissed due to his request to withdraw the appeals.
- Granted
The Veteran's onychomycosis of the feet is granted as service-connected due to presumed herbicide exposure in Vietnam.,Service connection for COPD and obstructive sleep apnea are denied, with no current evidence linking these conditions to service or presumptive exposure to herbicides.,The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is not related to his service, including presumed herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded four issues related to service connection for COPD, an acquired psychiatric disability, sleep apnea, and onychomycosis of the feet. The VA examinations need to be supplemented with addendum opinions that address whether these conditions are related to service.
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