The Board has remanded the claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to the Veteran's failure to appear at a scheduled videoconference hearing and his testimony during a July 2016 DRO hearing. The issues are related to pain in various body parts, including back, left elbow, left knee, and right leg, which is attributed to VA medical treatment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's increased pain is due to the natural progression of his diagnosed disabilities or to VA’s carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or other instance of fault in treating his existing disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- back disorder, left elbow disorder (bone and joint deterioration), left knee disorder (bone and joint deterioration), right leg disorder (due to left knee disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19103870
Veterans Law Judge
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 19103870.
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 case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to provide notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for peripheral vascular disease of the bilateral lower extremities and a back disorder have been dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal.
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