The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to his right elbow arthralgia, as well as his related hand and wrist arthritis. The AOJ is instructed to obtain an examination that addresses the severity of the Veteran’s right elbow disability and whether it aggravates his hand and wrist disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional information was needed regarding the extent of functional impairment due to flare-ups, and also requested a determination on whether the Veteran's right hand and wrist arthritis are aggravated by his service-connected right elbow arthralgia.
- Claimed conditions
- Right elbow arthralgia, Right hand arthritis, Right wrist arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19171289
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 19171289.
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 the Veteran's eligibility for enrollment in VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) due to her not requiring personal care services for a minimum of six continuous months based on an inability to perform one or more activities of daily living, a need for supervision or protection, or a need for regular or extensive instruction without which the ability to function in daily life would be seriously impaired.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error and insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right hand disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and eating disorder, but denied service connection for right hand arthritis, left hand arthritis, nerve damage in the neck, nerve damage in the right shoulder, nerve damage in the left shoulder, bronchitis, a gynecological disability, and non-compensable ratings for allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD, right hand arthritis, right wrist arthritis and CMC, and joint pain (other than right hand, right wrist, and bilateral knees), all claimed as due to the Veteran's Gulf War service.
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