The Board has found that the Veteran's right and left hand disabilities are not service-connected. The case is being remanded to provide a more detailed examination of these conditions, including their onset during service and any functional impairments due to pain.
The deciding factor: The September 2018 VA examiner did not provide a diagnosis for the bilateral hand condition and based his opinion on the absence of in-service treatment records. The Board finds that clarification is needed regarding the specific hand conditions at issue and whether they are related to service, including any reported powder burn injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Hand Disability, Right Hand Disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19123743
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 19123743.
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 claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the current evidence is insufficient to establish service connection for the Veteran's claimed disabilities, and thus remands the claims for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD is granted, and he is awarded separate initial 10 percent ratings for left hand strain with painful index finger motion and long finger motion. The claims for other disabilities are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been denied due to the absence of a diagnosed condition.,Service connection is being remanded for bilateral foot, lumbar spine, knee, ankle, and elbow disabilities.
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