The appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the veteran's arthritis of the hands is related to service or his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not provide a clear basis for determining whether the veteran's arthritis of the hands is directly related to service or secondary to his service-connected conditions. A remand is necessary to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2008
- Citation
- 0814373
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · 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 0814373.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a foot condition due to lack of evidence supporting a link between the conditions and the Veteran's military service. The claim for arthritis of the hands was remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Granted
Service connection has been granted for arthritis of the cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, hands, right knee, left knee, migraine headaches, and sinus condition (to include allergic rhinitis).,Prostate cancer has also been granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that more information is needed regarding the Veteran's hand disability, and a remand is ordered to allow for further examination and consideration of his claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for PTSD, service connection for diabetes mellitus, and arthritis of the neck, spine, knees, and hands is dismissed as his claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus has already been granted.
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