The Veteran's service-connected right wrist disability is currently rated as 40 percent disabling. The Board finds a need for additional examination to assess the current severity of her right wrist disability and whether she has muscle atrophy of the right forearm, which may be related to her service-connected condition. The issues of entitlement to higher ratings and secondary service connection are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's testimony indicates increased symptomatology due to her service-connected right wrist disability, including neurological impairment and loss of use of her hand. There is also conflicting evidence regarding the presence of muscle atrophy of the right forearm. The Board finds that a new VA examination is necessary to address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of scaphoid fracture of the right wrist with osteopenia and muscle loss of the right hand and wrist, muscle atrophy of the right forearm
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178471
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19178471.
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 determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
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