The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, including shoulder, elbow, hand, back, foot, groin, and upper/lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as depression. The appeals are being returned to VA for further development.
The deciding factor: The appeal is being returned due to the need for additional medical examinations and records to determine the etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder disability, right shoulder disability, left elbow disability, right elbow disability, left hand disability, right hand disability, low back disability (back lock up), neck disability, left foot disability, right foot disability, groin disability, radiculopathy, left upper extremity, radiculopathy, right upper extremity, radiculopathy, left lower extremity, radiculopathy, right lower extremity, depression
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18156440
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 18156440.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
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