The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the Veteran's PTSD is related to his fear of hostile military and terrorist activities, as he reported during service. The left index finger disorder claim remains denied.
The deciding factor: Further investigation into the USS Constellation's location and activity at the time of the Veteran's arrival is needed to establish whether the Veteran experienced combat stressors that would support a diagnosis of PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- left index finger disorder, acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000635
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 20000635.
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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The Veteran's appeals for various service connection claims have been dismissed due to his death while the appeal was pending.
- Partly granted
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- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, currently rated at 70 percent disabling, as the evidence did not support a finding of total occupational and social impairment.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asthma, an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), a right shoulder disorder, and a back disorder due to lack of evidence supporting the claims.
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