The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's bilateral upper extremity disability. The Veteran is asked to provide information about any outstanding private treatment records and VA treatment records are requested for review.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s bilateral upper extremity disability was caused by service, an undiagnosed illness, or a secondary condition.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral upper extremity disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20004538
Veterans Law Judge
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 20004538.
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 Veteran's appeal for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation benefits was denied because his bilateral lower extremity disability does not result in loss of use that precludes locomotion without the regular and constant use of an assistive device, and his bilateral upper extremity disability has not resulted in loss of use of both hands.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded all issues to obtain new medical opinions on the veteran's service connection claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The remaining issues of service connection for bilateral upper extremity disability, bilateral knee disability, glaucoma, and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to the need for additional examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional medical records, authorization of non-VA treatment records, and a more contemporaneous examination for his fibromyalgia.
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