The Board has determined that the Veteran's complete service treatment records are incomplete and needs to be obtained. The claims for service connection will be remanded until VA can obtain these records.
The deciding factor: VA was unable to obtain a complete copy of the Veteran’s service treatment records, which is necessary to make an informed decision on his claims.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes of the left shoulder, degenerative changes of the right shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) of the left hand, CTS of the right hand, numbness of the thumb and two fingers of the right hand, degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, nerve damage, to include as secondary to the bilateral shoulder condition, acquired psychiatric disorder (likely depression), insomnia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18159494
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 18159494.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection of insomnia was denied, and the effective date is set to the date of receipt of the claim (May 31, 2024).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the claims of entitlement to a compensable disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for anterior uveitis, right eye, and service connection for restless leg syndrome, RLE. The claim for service connection for insomnia is dismissed as moot because it was granted with an effective date based on the date of the Veteran's application.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, unspecified psychosis, arthritis of the lumbar spine, degenerative disc disease, multilevel spinal stenosis, and arthritis of the cervical spine and degenerative disc disease. The diagnoses are linked to in-service physical assaults.
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