The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to assess the Veteran's right wrist and bilateral foot conditions, as his service treatment records are unavailable due to a fire at the National Personnel Records Center. The appeal for these issues is REMANDED.
The deciding factor: VA's duty to assist requires providing an examination or obtaining an opinion when necessary to make a decision on the claim, given that the Veteran's service treatment records are lost and his claims involve medical diagnoses and etiology opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right wrist condition, Bilateral foot condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801238
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 1801238.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for light sensitivity is granted. The claims for service connection for bilateral knee strain and bilateral foot condition are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for both the right and left wrist conditions, finding that there is sufficient evidence to support the Veteran's claims.
- Granted
The Veteran's temporary total rating for convalescence following his February 2020 ulnar nerve surgery is granted due to the need for at least one month of post-operative convalescence.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right wrist condition as secondary to his service-connected left wrist condition, finding that there is at least as likely as not that the right wrist condition is caused by or aggravated by his service-connected left wrist condition.
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