The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and development of records.
The deciding factor: The decision is remanded because the Veteran has reported worsening symptoms since his last VA examination, and there may be new evidence that could affect the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- right index finger osteoarthritis, right ring finger osteoarthritis, right little finger osteoarthritis, left index finger osteoarthritis, left long finger osteoarthritis, left ring finger osteoarthritis, left little finger osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19141290
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 19141290.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims due to a duty to assist error, requiring additional development and examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection were dismissed.,New evidence received since the October 2013 rating decision has reopened claims for service connection, but not all of these claims have been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's right index finger osteoarthritis was granted an initial rating of 10 percent prior to February 9, 2017. From that date forward, the claim for a higher rating was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected sleep apnea. The Board finds that the evidence of record is insufficient to address the Veteran’s contention that his sleep apnea warrants higher than a 50 percent rating.
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