The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA orthopedic examination to determine if the veteran's complaints of hand pain and swelling are related to his service in the Persian Gulf War. The claim will be re-adjudicated after this development.
The deciding factor: The examiner is required to review the claims file and conduct an orthopedic examination to assess whether the veteran's complaints constitute an undiagnosed illness related to his service in the Persian Gulf War, and to determine if they are at least as likely as not etiologically related to that service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the hands, subluxation of the lunate bone, right wrist
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0603655
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, chronic kidney disease, cell bladder carcinoma, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal issues, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active duty for training.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been withdrawn by the Veteran and is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for right wrist, hypertension, and prostate cancer due to an improper concurrent election of review options under the Appeals Modernization Act.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's arthritis of the hands, stating that it did not manifest during or within one year after service and is not related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
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