The Veteran's claims for initial compensable disability ratings for osteoarthritis right tarsal and residuals of hemorrhoidectomy are remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of private treatment records.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not thoroughly review the claims file, particularly regarding diagnostic testing. The Veteran also reported that she was not examined by the VA examiner as requested.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis right tarsal, residuals of hemorrhoidectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19103034
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 317 · Granted: 19% (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 19103034.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for osteoarthritis right tarsal and hemorrhoidectomy have been dismissed as the Veteran requested to withdraw her appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not result in the need for regular aid and attendance of another person, as his helplessness was due to nonservice-connected disabilities such as stroke and brain cancer. Therefore, SMC based on the need for aid and attendance for accrued benefits purposes is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was presumed to be due to his service-connected schizophrenia, thus qualifying him for burial benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to return the claims file to the Veteran's representative for preparation of a more comprehensive VA Form 646. The Veteran and his representative have been provided an opportunity to review the claims file and prepare their arguments.
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