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
Veterans Law Judge
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been presented to warrant readjudication of the claim for service connection for arthritis of the knees, elbows, and hands. The matter is being remanded for further consideration on a secondary basis due to the Veteran's assertions regarding his hips locking and falling into foxholes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not associating the Veteran's service treatment records with the claims file, and therefore the Board is unable to decide the issues currently on appeal. The Board also finds that remand for development of a longitudinal exposure record (ILER) and a TERA opinion is necessary.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for vitiligo, bilateral hand degenerative arthritis, and bilateral distal radioulnar osteoarthritis have been granted.
- 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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