The Board has decided that more evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's arthritis of the bilateral hands is related to his military service. The case is being sent back for further examination and evaluation.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence to establish a direct relationship between the Veteran's current condition and his military service, necessitating additional medical examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral hands
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19144589
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 service connection for arthritis of the bilateral hands, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability as there was no evidence to support a current disability or a relationship to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee osteoarthritis, finding it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected muscle spasm disorder due to meningitis. The issue of entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the bilateral hands is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for various joint conditions, cervical spine arthritis, lumbosacral spine arthritis, and radiculopathy of the upper extremities to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals due to the Veteran's death, and no service connection was granted for any conditions.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.