The veteran's claim for service connection for avascular necrosis of the left hip and anal fistula is being remanded due to incomplete medical records. The RO must attempt to obtain his service medical records and any relevant post-service treatment records.
The deciding factor: Incomplete service medical records prevent a determination on the merits of the veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- avascular necrosis of the left hip, anal fistula
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 13, 2004
- Citation
- 0412460
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (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 0412460.
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 has remanded four issues related to the Veteran's daughter, including a claim for anal fistula, right knee injury residuals, left ear hearing loss, and valvular heart disease. The decision also notes that no fiduciary was appointed on behalf of the Appellant due to her adoption.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the request for an extension of time to file a Board Appeal request was not timely and good cause was not shown.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an anal fistula, finding that there was no evidence to support a relationship between his service-connected GERD and the development of the anal fistula. The Board also noted that the Veteran had not been diagnosed with any other conditions such as Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hemorrhoids with anal fissure and fistula, finding that the Veteran's burn pit exposures likely aggravated his existing IBS-related diarrhea, which in turn caused his hemorrhoids.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.