The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to include obtaining updated VA treatment records, requesting private medical records from Dr. W in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate examinations to determine the severity of his service-connected knee and hand disabilities as well as whether a lumbar spine disability is related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional development is necessary to ensure that all relevant evidence has been considered and to provide an adequate examination to assess the current level of severity for the Veteran's service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- chondromalacia, degenerative arthritis, laceration to the right hand, numbness, 5th finger, right hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 7, 2015
- Citation
- 1533772
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 1533772.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
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