The veteran is seeking to establish service connection for residuals of a left middle finger injury sustained in service. The Board has determined that further development, including an examination, is necessary before the claim can be decided.
The deciding factor: Further evidence and medical opinion are needed to determine if the current disability is related to the in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a left middle finger injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0406196
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0406196.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine the current status of the Veteran's left middle finger and whether it is related to his service. The appeal will be remanded for this purpose.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to her inability to be contacted, and the case will be further reviewed after obtaining updated information.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's left middle finger injury during service resulted in residuals, and these are considered a direct result of his military service.
- Denied
The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation and earlier effective date for service connection were both denied. The initial evaluation of 10% for residuals of a left middle finger injury is upheld, as the disability does not meet criteria for a higher rating. An earlier effective date was also denied due to lack of evidence of prior claims.
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