The Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of a definitive opinion and potential missing records. The Veteran is also required to provide authorization for VA to obtain relevant records from his incarceration.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence in the record to determine whether the Veteran's disabilities are related to military service, including exposure to environmental hazards, and thus requires additional medical opinions and verification of service beyond August 1985 to July 1988.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD, memory loss, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and compulsive disorder), claimed as due to exposure to environmental hazards, Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine (claimed as neck disability), Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine (claimed as back disability), Left ankle sprain, Left heel/foot condition, Left wrist disability, Nerve damage, claimed as due to exposure to environmental hazards, Right wrist sprain, Sleep apnea, claimed as due to exposure to environmental hazards
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122742
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19122742.
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 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 case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right wrist disability, finding that there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and no current disability related to her active duty service.
- Denied
The Veteran's right and left wrist disabilities have been rated at 10 percent each, effective April 18, 2024. The Board found that the current ratings are appropriate based on the evidence showing no ankylosis or other conditions warranting higher ratings.
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