The Board has determined that the Veteran's June 4, 2003 statement was an informal claim of entitlement to service connection for his right thumb and little fingers. The appeal is being remanded to obtain a retrospective VA opinion assessing the nature and severity of his service-connected right hand disability at the beginning of the period on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's June 4, 2003 statement was interpreted as an informal claim for service connection for his right thumb and little fingers. The Board is remanding the case to obtain a retrospective VA opinion assessing the nature and severity of his service-connected right hand disability at the beginning of the period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of use of the right hand (dominant), right index finger, right long finger, right ring finger
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2018
- Citation
- 18124781
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 18124781.
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 requested to withdraw her appeal regarding the earlier effective date for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis affecting various fingers and wrists. The Board dismissed the appeals as per the Veteran's request.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claims for service connection and increased ratings, as new evidence has been received since previous denials.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for initial compensable ratings for right ring and little fingers due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection of right pinky finger, right ring finger, and right middle finger.
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