The Board has remanded the claims for right ankle disorder, left hand disorder, and psychiatric disorder due to missing records and inadequate reports of VA examinations. The Veteran's nonservice-connected pension benefits were terminated effective May 1, 2012, based on excessive income that included receipt of Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits and military retirement pension.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence in the record to make fully-informed decisions regarding service connection for right ankle disorder, left hand disorder, and psychiatric disorder. The termination of nonservice-connected pension benefits was also remanded due to unclear income calculations.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle disorder, left hand disorder, psychiatric disorder (including PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19186363
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection and rating issues, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for pes planus (flat feet) and remanded several other issues, including service connection for various disorders and increased ratings for the right knee. The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for several disorders, granted service connection for tinnitus, and remanded additional claims for further development.
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