The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to inadequate examinations and inconsistencies in the examination reports.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were not adequate, particularly regarding flare-ups of the Veteran's back, which are necessary for determining his current disability level.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a right thumb laceration with nerve damage, degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19181436
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two issues: one regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and another for a higher rating for his degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. The reasons are to obtain additional medical records and conduct further examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease in service or within a presumptive period, and that continuity of symptomatology was not established. The Board also found that the Veteran did not have a nexus between his current back problems and an in-service injury.
- Granted
The Board finds that service connection for a low back disorder, to include degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, is warranted based on credible lay evidence of an in-service injury followed by chronic pain since then.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including eye disorder, kidney disorder, stomach disorder, deformed fingers and toes, and degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. The decisions were based on a finding that there was no medical evidence to support these claims.
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