The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of service connection for arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis of both wrists, due to a lack of medical nexus opinion regarding his current disabilities. The case is returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was not provided with sufficient information or evidence to determine if there is a medical nexus between the Veteran's current arthritis diagnoses and service, including as secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis of the left wrist, arthritis of the right wrist
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19128785
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 remands the appeal to obtain a VA medical opinion that considers the Veteran's contentions of in-service training with heavy gear and equipment.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for fibromyalgia was granted with an effective date of August 14, 2023. The appeals for earlier effective dates and higher ratings were denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on chronic symptoms shown during service and continuity of those symptoms since service.
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