The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a December 2010 examination report and providing an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The January 2011 VA examination was inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's long-standing complaints of pain in his hands, fingers, and left elbow. The Board requested additional opinions from the examiner but these were not provided.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the hands and fingers, arthritis of the left elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2011
- Citation
- 1113873
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 1113873.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of skin cancer excision scars, bilateral hearing loss, and multiple noncompensable disabilities are dismissed. The Board also remanded the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for service-connected hypertension, as well as his claims for arthritis of various joints.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to fully and fairly consider the merits of the Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including arthritis of the elbows and wrists, poor vision, anal fistula, diabetes mellitus, and TDIU. The Veteran will need to undergo a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral elbow and wrist conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not preclude him from securing and following all forms of substantially gainful employment that are consistent with his education and occupational experience prior to July 26, 2016.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since September 21, 2009.
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