The claim of entitlement to service connection for a right-hand nerve injury is denied.,The claim of entitlement to service connection for a heart disorder is remanded.,The claims of entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities are remanded.,The claim of entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia is remanded.,The claims of entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder disorder and for a right shoulder disorder are remanded.
The deciding factor: There is no credible evidence of an in-service injury that could have caused the claimed right-hand nerve damage, and there is insufficient competent medical evidence on file to establish a link between the current disability and service.,The Veteran has not been provided with a VA examination to determine the etiology of his heart disorder. A remand is necessary to obtain such an examination.,The claims for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities are inextricably intertwined with the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus. Therefore, a remand is required to determine their etiology.,There is insufficient competent medical evidence on file to establish a link between the Veteran’s fibromyalgia and his military service or any other service-connected disability. A VA examination is necessary to provide such an opinion.,The claims for left shoulder disorder and right shoulder disorder are inextricably intertwined with the Veteran's service-connected PTSD. Therefore, a remand is required to determine their etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- Right-hand nerve injury, Heart disorder, Diabetes mellitus, Peripheral neuropathy of bilateral upper extremities, Peripheral neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities, Fibromyalgia, Left shoulder disorder, Right shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177256
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 19177256.
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 Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 28, 2021. From September 28, 2021 to May 22, 2022, the Veteran had a combined total disability rating of 100%, which rendered the issue moot as he was already receiving SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The reduction of the disability rating for headaches from 50% to 30% is not proper and is void ab initio. Effective dates are denied for various service connection claims.,Multiple issues related to initial disability ratings, effective dates, and earlier effective dates for higher ratings are remanded.
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