The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain STRs and VA treatment records, as well as for new medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed right hand condition, right shoulder disorder, back disorder, knee disorders, ankle disorders, and leg disorders.
The deciding factor: The decision notes that the Veteran's STRs are incomplete and requests additional records to be obtained. It also requires a new VA examination for each issue on appeal to determine if there is a current diagnosis of any claimed condition or if the Veteran’s pain rises to the level of functional impairment in line with Saunders v. Wilkie.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hand Condition, Left Hand Condition, Right Shoulder Disorder, Back Disorder, Right Knee Disorder, Left Knee Disorder, Right Ankle Disorder, Left Ankle Disorder, Right Leg Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193514
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (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 19193514.
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 determined that the Veteran's right knee disorder is related to his military service and grants entitlement to service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and an initial compensable rating for TBI, as new evidence was received. The effective date for service connection for TBI is being remanded.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disorder is related to his service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining medical records and for an additional medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back disorder.
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