The Board has remanded the case for further proceedings, including obtaining an addendum medical opinion or new examination to clarify which fingers are affected by the Veteran's service-connected scar and addressing his contention that he has 'broken' skin on his left palm.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded due to insufficient rationale in determining which specific fingers are affected by the Veteran's service-connected scar, as well as the need for clarification regarding whether the Veteran's description of 'broken' skin is equivalent to an unstable scar.
- Claimed conditions
- left palm skin condition, left index trigger finger, neuroma, hypersensitivity, tenosynovitis, ganglion cyst, left little finger pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18152375
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 18152375.
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 granted service connection for left little finger pain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms began during his active duty training and are related to a benign bone cyst noted in his STRs. The Board resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted a readjudication of the claim for service connection for right knee disorder. The claims for right leg shortening are remanded due to their inextricability with the right knee disorder claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow any form of substantially gainful employment prior to March 26, 2020. The effective date for the grant of TDIU is set at December 11, 2019.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, finding that there was no credible evidence linking these conditions to his military service and concluding that any additional disability was not caused by VA care.
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