The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a cold injury to the fingers and toes should be remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding his claimed in-service frostbite.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's competent reports of symptoms during service, nor did they provide sufficient rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- numbness of the toes, osteoarthritis of bilateral hands and feet, carpal tunnel syndrome, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease of the hands, ulnar neuropathy, sciatica, neuritis/peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2015
- Citation
- 1525540
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 1525540.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. Additional development is needed for service connection of carpal tunnel syndrome, increased ratings for lower extremity radiculopathies, and obtaining a VA TERA opinion.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of carpal tunnel syndrome in the left upper extremity, and the Board has dismissed this case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for ulnar neuropathy of the right upper extremity should be remanded due to incomplete evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve post traumatic mononeuropathy of the right upper extremity is rated at 40 percent effective July 23, 2019.
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