The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder and left-hand disorder, finding new and material evidence. The claim of entitlement to an effective date prior to May 30, 2012 for posttraumatic stress disorder is also remanded.,VA treatment records from before November 2011 have not been obtained, nor are there indications that such records have been requested. Additionally, the Veteran's Social Security Administration records and any medical records related to his reported fall from a tank in service need to be obtained.
The deciding factor:
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disorder, Left-Hand Disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007671
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 20007671.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining medical records and for an additional medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection, but his right ear hearing loss and back disorder claims are remanded for further evaluation.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for a back disorder as new and relevant evidence was not received, despite previous denials.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining service records and providing an adequate examination. The Veteran's back disorder claim will be reconsidered with these issues addressed.
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