The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder condition and left hand/wrist condition, both claimed as arthritis due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. The Veteran's VA treatment records indicate current diagnoses of these conditions but a VA examination is needed to determine if they are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the existing medical evidence insufficient to establish a connection between the Veteran's current shoulder and wrist conditions and his military service, necessitating further evaluation through a VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral shoulder condition, left hand/wrist condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101889
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral shoulder condition, but denied petitions to reopen claims for residuals of heat exhaustion, any dysfunction regulating body temperature, and a right ankle condition. The Board also remanded claims for bruxism and a bilateral shoulder condition.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests were not timely filed, and good cause was not shown to accept the late filings.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the Veteran's stress fracture, mid-distal femur, right leg with limited flexion and restored the 30 percent rating for the Veteran's stress fracture, mid-distal femur, right leg with limitation of abduction and rotation. The other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various bilateral musculoskeletal conditions and obstructive sleep apnea as they were not related to the Veteran's service or a service-connected disability.
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