The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder, right foot arthritis, and right foot gout due to conflicting evidence and the need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on conflicting medical opinions and the need for an addendum opinion from a VA examiner or another appropriate physician.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder, right foot arthritis, right foot gout
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20035262
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 20035262.
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 is granted an effective date of December 10, 2015 for total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA). The decision also grants earlier effective dates for these benefits.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for various service connection and rating decisions related to gout affecting multiple joints, left foot gout, right foot gout, elbow pronation and supination gout, elbow limitation of flexion gout, thumb gout, index finger gout, long finger gout, ring and little finger gout, middle finger gout, ankle gout, knee gout, and right thumb gout. The effective dates for these decisions were not earlier than the specified dates.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for rhinitis, dizziness, leg muscle pain, asthma, cervical strain as secondary to a low back condition, and left shoulder due to the appellant's withdrawal of these appeals.
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