The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left wrist, right shoulder, right arm pain, left arm pain, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (low back disability), left knee arthritis, and right knee arthritis due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the severity of his left wrist condition, nature and etiology of his right shoulder and arm disabilities, and nature and etiology of his low back and knee conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical opinions provided were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements or in-service complaints of pain. The Board also noted a lack of range of motion measurements for the Veteran’s left wrist condition, which is necessary to evaluate its severity.
- Claimed conditions
- left wrist, right shoulder, right arm pain, left arm pain, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (low back disability), left knee arthritis, right knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2018
- Citation
- 18145905
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 18145905.
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 withdrew her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for left ankle, right ankle, right hand, and left hand conditions are denied.,The Veteran's service connection claim for right hip condition is denied.,The Veteran's service connection claim for left hip condition is denied.,The Veteran's service connection claim for left wrist condition is denied.,The Veteran's service connection claim for right wrist condition is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been received. The AOJ should now consider secondary service connection in addition to the original claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
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