The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of the neck, shoulders, and hands is being remanded due to ambiguities in the evidence regarding the nature of his disabilities and their relationship to his military service.
The deciding factor: There are ambiguities in the evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current disabilities of the neck, shoulders, and hands are related to his military service and whether they were caused or aggravated by his arthritis of the shoulders.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the neck, arthritis of the shoulders, arthritis of the hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2010
- Citation
- 1035150
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 1035150.
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 has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the neck, right knee condition (claimed as arthritis), left knee condition (claimed as arthritis), left hip condition, right hip condition, and right hand condition. The appeals are dismissed.
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