The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical opinions and records in order to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection.
The deciding factor: The current VA examination reports are inadequate as they do not address whether the claimed disabilities were aggravated by the service-connected residuals of the right ring finger injury or if there was a pre-existing condition that worsened during service. Additionally, the records may contain relevant information regarding the onset and continuity of symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the right hand, Cervical spine disability with radiating pain in the right arm
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2016
- Citation
- 1604497
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 1604497.
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 remanded the case due to insufficient response from the VA examiner regarding the precise nature of the Veteran's right fifth digit deformity and its relation to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's laceration of the right forehead is rated at 30 percent since July 3, 2006. The issue of entitlement to an initial compensable rating for degenerative changes of the right hand prior to February 28, 2007, and a 10 percent rating thereafter remains pending.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative changes of the left and right hands, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on current symptoms or limitations.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims were denied as his conditions did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable VA regulations.
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