The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and a change in legal precedent regarding aggravation. The Veteran's right hand disabilities need further examination to determine if they are directly related to his military service, including an accident that caused his already service-connected right forearm scar.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the inadequacy of previous medical opinions and a recent court ruling changing the definition of aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand strain, carpal tunnel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004158
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 20004158.
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 withdrew his appeal for service connection of carpal tunnel syndrome in the left upper extremity, and the Board has dismissed this case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. Additional development is needed for service connection of carpal tunnel syndrome, increased ratings for lower extremity radiculopathies, and obtaining a VA TERA opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve post traumatic mononeuropathy of the right upper extremity is rated at 40 percent effective July 23, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's carpal tunnel syndrome was diagnosed during service and has continued to the present. The Board granted service connection for this condition, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise that it began in service.
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