The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right hand and left wrist disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations to accurately assess the extent of disability.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected right hand and left wrist disabilities, including whether there are separate injuries or overlapping symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound of the left wrist, shell fragment wound to the right hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 14, 2014
- Citation
- 1431494
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 1431494.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's shell fragment wound to the right hand is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected shell fragment wounds to the right hand and elbow due to a lack of recent medical examination, and requests that he provide additional evidence.
- Denied
The VA has denied the veteran's claim for a higher rating for his residuals of a shell fragment wound of the left wrist, currently rated at 10 percent.
- Denied
The VA denied an increased evaluation for the veteran's right hand disability, currently rated at 10 percent. The evidence did not support a higher rating based on Diagnostic Code 5225.
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