The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to determine the etiology of his right arm disorder, including whether it was incurred in or caused by active duty service. The initial compensable disability evaluation for right forearm scar residuals remains denied.
The deciding factor: The October 2017 VA examiner did not address the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology and thus a new examination is required to determine if the current symptoms are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right forearm scar, Residuals of a right forearm stab injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19152830
Veterans Law Judge
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 19152830.
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's service-connected disabilities from June 24, 2010 to June 14, 2016 precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine the severity of the Veteran's restless leg syndrome and to obtain a sleep study. The right forearm scar remains rated at 10 percent, but the rating for restless leg syndrome is being remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU from January 1, 2021 onward due to his service-connected disabilities. However, the TDIU claim for the period March 19, 2012 to November 24, 2019 is denied as he had substantially gainful employment during this time.
- Granted
The Veteran's right forearm scar is granted a 10% disability rating effective December 4, 2017.,Service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus are both granted. The service connection for type II diabetes mellitus as secondary to herbicide-agent exposure is also granted.,A compensable disability rating for the right forearm scar prior to December 4, 2017, is denied.
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