The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional evidentiary development, including providing an examination to determine whether right upper extremity impairment is equivalent to 'loss of use' and addressing entitlement to a higher rate of SMC. The claims are being remanded due to deficiencies in the October 2018 VA examination report.
The deciding factor: The October 2018 VA examination report was found to be ambiguous, insufficient for adjudication purposes, and noncompliant with the Board's June 2018 remand.
- Claimed conditions
- Right upper extremity impairment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130205
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 Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected Parkinsonism, as it meets the criteria for such benefits.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for service connection of various disabilities, including Parkinson's disease and related conditions, as the earliest possible effective date was March 14, 2017, due to a new law that allowed presumptive service connection based on exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Parkinson’s disease and secondary disabilities is granted with an effective date of July 7, 2009. The Board also finds the Veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date of July 7, 2009 for SMC based on housebound criteria.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new examination.
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