The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right hand condition and a right ankle condition due to the lack of available service treatment records. The VA will obtain new medical opinions to address whether these conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA does not have sufficient evidence in the form of service treatment records to determine if the Veteran's current right hand and right ankle conditions are related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hand Condition, Right Ankle Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19101212
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 granted service connection for various conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea, left hip condition, GERD, irritable bowel syndrome, back condition, right knee condition, left ankle condition, right ankle condition, erectile dysfunction, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, all secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral foot/toe conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for GERD was granted, while the claims for left and right hand degenerative arthritis were denied. The rating for his right ankle condition was increased to 20 percent effective September 25, 2014.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for PTSD and denied ratings in excess of 50 percent for OSA, IBS, and headaches. The Board also granted service connection for right elbow, left wrist, neck, and left leg shin splints conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, chronic, but denied earlier effective dates and service connection for left ankle condition, right ankle condition, and stress fracture of the right femur.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.