The Board has determined that a medical examination is necessary to determine all current symptoms due to the service-connected neck disability. The case is remanded for further development and re-adjudication.
The deciding factor: The need for a VA examination to assess the veteran's current symptoms related to his service-connected residuals of a shell fragment wound of the neck, with retained metallic fragment.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound of the neck, retained metallic fragment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0601009
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,738 · 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 0601009.
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 appeal to reopen a claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is also granted. The appeals seeking service connection for left knee arthritis, right knee arthritis, and hydrocele of the left testicle are dismissed. A disability rating of 20 percent (but no higher) for a shell fragment wound of the neck is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development due to the need for VA examinations to reassess his disabilities, including dysthymia and residuals of a shell fragment wound of the neck. The RO/AMC will also consider whether he is entitled to higher ratings for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected facial scar and shell fragment wound of the neck with partial aphonia are currently rated at 10 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for either condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's scar of the posterior neck is a residual of a shell fragment wound to the neck sustained during service in Vietnam, and grants service connection for this condition.
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