The Veteran's claims for increased ratings on multiple disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional VA and private treatment records.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed to properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Degenerative disc and joint disease of the cervical spine, Status post acromioclavicular joint separation of the right shoulder, with acromioclavicular joint arthritis (right shoulder disability), Status post left wrist arthrotomy, scapholunate ligament reconstruction with blatt capsulodesis (left wrist disability), Sprained right thumb with metacarpophalangeal joint instability (right thumb disability), Radiculopathy (sciatic) of the right lower extremity, Right knee strain, Right ankle strain, Dislocation of the left fourth extensor tendon
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105496
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,738 · Granted: 17% (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 19105496.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there was no nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine strain, right wrist sprain, right knee strain, left knee strain, and right ankle strain. The disabilities are all deemed to have begun during the Veteran's active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee condition due to inadequate VA opinions and incomplete record development regarding his National Guard service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
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