The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the Veteran's right hand disability and its relationship to service-connected conditions. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s right hand disability began during active service, or is related to an incident of service, as well as whether it was proximately due to or the result of his service-connected left ankle arthritis, lumbosacral degenerative disease, right hip arthroplasty, left foot pes planus and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the examiner's opinions were inadequate as they did not address the Veteran’s concerns regarding his sleeping position due to his service-connected disabilities and used the term 'permanent' which is not appropriate for a secondary service connection claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand disability evidenced by numbness and tingling along the ulnar nerve distribution (also claimed as right hand ring finger and fifth finger numbness and tingling)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000177
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Granted
The Board granted service connection for myasthenia gravis based on the Veteran's exposure to hazardous substances during his military service.
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