The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete records and failure to consider a recent VA opinion. The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis is being reviewed again with new evidence.
The deciding factor: The most recent denial did not consider a June 2018 VA addendum opinion which suggested service connection for rheumatoid arthritis in hands and right knee.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005717
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 rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on chronic symptoms shown during service and continuity of those symptoms since service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis was dismissed due to a untimely notice of disagreement. The left knee disorder claim is remanded for further action.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD and granted an effective date of May 31, 2004, but no earlier, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.