The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left elbow and lumbar spine disabilities due to inadequate examinations in July 2012. The AOJ is instructed to schedule new VA examinations that comply with the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 4.59, Correia v. McDonald, and Sharp v. Shulkin.
The deciding factor: The Board found the July 2012 examination reports inadequate for assessing the Veteran's current disability levels due to lack of proper range of motion testing during flare-ups or repetitive use.
- Claimed conditions
- left elbow fracture, fracture of the transverse process in the L-1 are of the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19191381
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 19191381.
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 service connection for a left elbow fracture, to include as secondary to shortness of breath due to an undiagnosed illness. The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial ratings for left wrist and elbow disabilities are granted, with a separate rating of 10% for abnormal motion and decreased strength of the left thumb. The Veteran is also granted an initial rating of 30% for migraine headaches, effective from the date of the decision.
- Denied
The Board found no current disabilities related to the claimed conditions and denied service connection for all issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for colon cancer secondary to herbicide exposure and an increased rating for his left elbow fracture. The decision is pending on the issue of a higher rating.
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