The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for a bilateral upper extremity disability, which includes right carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), osteoarthritis of the right hand, and right index trigger finger. The Veteran asserts that these disabilities are secondary to his now service-connected dizziness.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence to determine if the current or recurrent bilateral upper extremity disability is related to service or secondary to a service-connected disability, including stress placed on the Veteran's hand by multiple falls caused by now service-connected dizziness.
- Claimed conditions
- CTS (right), Osteoarthritis of the right hand, Right index trigger finger
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19191944
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 19191944.
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 granted a 10 percent disability rating for osteoarthritis of the right hand and service connection for a left shoulder disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and incomplete reasoning. The Veteran seeks service connection for bilateral upper extremity disability, which he asserts is secondary to his service-connected dizziness.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands did not have onset in service, was not related to his service-connected gout, and is not otherwise related to service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded as the Board cannot make a decision on an extraschedular basis without further review by the Director of Compensation Service.
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