The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to difficulties in scheduling VA examinations because of his incarceration. The issues include arthritis, hearing loss, COPD, hypertension, renal failure, lymphocytic lymphoma, and thrombocytopenia.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision without medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions due to lack of VA examination records.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the left knee, arthritis of the left wrist and hand, arthritis of the right wrist and hand, bilateral hearing loss, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, acute renal failure, hemolytic anemia, small cell lymphocytic lymphoma, thrombocytopenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 31, 2018
- Citation
- 18106727
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 18106727.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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