The Veteran's petition to reopen a claim for service connection for conjunctivitis was denied. The Board also remanded the cases of increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and fracture right 5th metatarsal with arthritic changes.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for conjunctivitis, and the Veteran's back and toe conditions have shown increased severity since the last examination.
- Claimed conditions
- conjunctivitis, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, fracture right 5th metatarsal with arthritic changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18145083
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 18145083.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. The claims for service connection and rating of various conditions have not progressed further.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
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