The Board has determined that additional examinations are necessary to address the questions of whether the Veteran's claimed carpal tunnel syndrome and back disability had their clinical onset during active service or is otherwise the result of a disease or injury in service.
The deciding factor: The examination reports are not adequate for the purpose of deciding this appeal due to lack of review of the claims file and consideration of the Veteran's history, any findings specifically referable to the reported surgery, and an assessment of whether there were residuals of the reported surgery (as acknowledged above, scars were noted, but their extent and nature were not discussed).
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, back disability, to include cervical and lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2017
- Citation
- 1724609
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 1724609.
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 determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that symptoms began many years after separation from service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, bilateral feet conditions (to include bone spurs), and obstructive sleep apnea due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that there is no credible evidence of a nexus between his current condition and his active duty service.
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