The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions regarding her hip, hand, and upper extremity disabilities. The low back disability claim is also being remanded as the VA examination did not include necessary joint testing.
The deciding factor: Insufficient Medical Opinions: The VA examinations provided do not address all aspects of the Veteran's claims, particularly regarding the onset and relationship to service for her hip, hand, and upper extremity disabilities. Additionally, the VA examination for the low back disability was inadequate as it did not include joint testing.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Hip Disability, Right Hip Disability, Left Hand Disability, Right Hand Disability, Left Upper Extremity Radiculopathy, Right Upper Extremity Radiculopathy, Low Back Disability, Psychiatric Disability (to include PTSD and Depression)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18113577
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 18113577.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability, including diagnosed degenerative arthritis with DDD other than intervertebral disc syndrome and spinal stenosis status post L3, L4, and L5 laminectomy. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury and his ongoing symptoms since then.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
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