The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar degenerative disc disease, bilateral fingers and feet atopic dermatitis, and bilateral elbows and knees vitiligo due to outstanding VA treatment records and a need for further examinations.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need to obtain additional medical evidence and conduct further evaluations as requested by the Board in its previous remands.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD), bilateral fingers atopic dermatitis, bilateral elbows vitiligo, bilateral knees vitiligo
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190717
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 19190717.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus has been denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.,Service connection for a rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar DDD has also been denied due to lack of evidence supporting an increase in disability level.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the issues of effective dates and ratings related to lumbar spine strain, Dupuytren's contracture in the left hand with ankylosis, and Dupuytren's contracture in the right hand with osteoarthritis. The Board dismissed these appeals.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected back disability was denied an increased rating, with a final rating of 40% since May 2, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for benign prostate hypertrophy is granted. However, the Veteran's increased rating claim for lumbar degenerative disc disease is denied.
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