The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left hand arthritis. The VA needs to obtain relevant in-service and post-service medical records, including hospital records from Fort Lewis, and schedule a VA examination for an opinion on whether the arthritis is related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was not enough competent medical evidence to decide the claim regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left hand arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002541
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (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 20002541.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the proposed reduction in PTSD rating from 70% to 50%, and for service connection claims related to various joints and diabetes mellitus type II, has been dismissed due to procedural issues. The Veteran withdrew his appeals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a VA examination to determine if any current left hand disability, including arthritis, is related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and chronic sinusitis are not service-connected as there is no evidence of current disabilities.,The Veteran does not have a diagnosed condition of left hand arthritis, right hand arthritis, or shoulder arthritis.
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