The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the Veteran currently has a diagnosis of Sjogren’s Syndrome and psoriatic arthritis, and whether these conditions are related to her service-connected psoriasis. The claims for service connection will be remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no current diagnoses of either Sjogren’s Syndrome or psoriatic arthritis in the Veteran's records, but noted that she has reported pain which may constitute a disability under new case law regarding pain alone as a functional impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Sjogren’s Syndrome, psoriatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000744
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post right total hip replacement, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, fever sores, and a compromised immune system, as the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for revision of an April 24, 1996, rating decision that denied service connection for psoriasis on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation based on housebound status from October 5, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error related to the failure to provide a VA toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) examination.
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