The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left ring finger and left elbow/wrist disabilities are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The cases will be returned for further examination and rating determinations.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were inadequate, particularly in terms of assessing the current severity and manifestations of the Veteran's disabilities, especially considering post-operative procedures and flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- left ring finger disability, left elbow/wrist disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2019
- Citation
- A19000979
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000979.
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 Board has remanded the claims for chronic dry eye, chronic fatigue syndrome, constipation, IBS, left little finger disability, left index finger disability, left thumb disability, left ring finger disability, left long finger disability, right ring finger disability, right index finger disability, right long finger disability, and right thumb disability due to an error in the initial decision. The Veteran was not provided with notice of her right to a hearing on these issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for his left ring finger disability, as the evidence did not support a higher evaluation under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for higher ratings and TDIU due to incomplete VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, and disabilities affecting each finger as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease, including exposure to toxic exposure risk activities (TERAs).
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