The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral ankle, hand, shoulder, and left elbow disabilities due to inadequate VA examination. The Veteran's complaints of widespread joint pain during his service in South West Asia are considered. The AOJ is required to obtain any outstanding VA and private treatment records and issue a SOC on the application to reopen a claim of service connection for a back disability and claims for higher ratings for left knee and right elbow disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the March 2015 VA examination was inadequate as it did not review the claims file or perform imaging studies. The Court directed the Board to consider undiagnosed illness and medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness theories of entitlement, including Gulf War Syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability, bilateral hand disability, bilateral shoulder disability, left elbow disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 16, 2018
- Citation
- 18127140
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 18127140.
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 service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are remanded due to procedural errors in the adjudication process. The claims will be reconsidered with additional evidence and a thorough review of all relevant medical records.
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