The veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral elbow disability was remanded to provide the veteran with a VA examination to determine if his pre-existing condition was aggravated by his time in service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that an examination was necessary to address whether the veteran's congenital elbow condition was permanently increased in severity during service beyond its natural progression.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral elbow disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0903957
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected scar, status-post appendectomy, but denied all other claims for increased ratings and service connection.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, hypertension, low back disability, left sciatic radicular pain and paresthesia of left leg, bilateral elbow disability, and respiratory insufficiency (dyspnea) with nodules in lungs. The claims for a rating in excess of 50 percent for major depressive disorder, service connection for generalized anxiety disability, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sinusitis and a right wrist disability, as there was no evidence of these conditions during or shortly after his military service. The claims for other disabilities were remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted the appeal as to the severance of service connection for bilateral elbow, left knee, and right ankle disabilities due to evidence indicating these conditions were incurred during the Veteran's time in service.
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