The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a chronic right hand disability and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied. The case is remanded for further development regarding cervical spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, memory loss due to TBI, and an acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran’s lay testimony about his in-service injury and its impact on his current condition. The remand also includes requests for a supplemental medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, memory loss due to TBI, and an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Right hand disability, Cervical spine disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Memory loss due to TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), Acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19153483
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 19153483.
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 bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
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