The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded as the issues involve reopened claims.
The deciding factor: The claims involve reopening of previously denied claims, which requires further evaluation to determine if new evidence supports a grant of benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis B, Left leg shin splints, Right leg shin splints, Right great toe arthritis, Pseudofolliculitis barbae (folliculitis)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003903
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 20003903.
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 Veteran's bilateral shin splints are rated at a 10 percent rating, effective September 24, 2020. Service connection for hypertension is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the reduction of his hepatitis B rating from 20% to 0% was upheld. Service connection was not established for diabetes, left knee arthritis, hypertension, or obstructive sleep apnea. Bilateral hearing loss was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's asthma and hepatitis B claims are remanded for further evaluation. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to its inextricability with the other claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for hepatitis B from January 4, 1977, to June 18, 2009 is being remanded due to the need for a retrospective addendum opinion.
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