The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting opinions regarding whether the Veteran has a current diagnosis of Sjogren’s syndrome and if it is related to service.
The deciding factor: The examiner's February 2020 addendum opinion is unclear, and an additional examination or clarification from the same examiner is needed to address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Sjogren’s syndrome, undifferentiated connective tissue disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20055331
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 20055331.
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 Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for undifferentiated connective tissue disease, finding that it is proximately due to her service-connected Hashimoto's thyroiditis and resolving reasonable doubt in her favor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's fibromyalgia and undifferentiated connective tissue disease are granted as service-connected. The left foot disability, right wrist disability, and arthralgia/myalgia disability are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's blood disorder, claimed as hypogammaglobulinemia, CVID, undifferentiated connective tissue disease, lupus and bone marrow suppression, is not related to service or any other service-connected condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of the Veteran's claim for service connection for a blood disorder, including exposure to ionizing radiation. The case must be returned to Compensation Service for an opinion and additional VA medical records should be obtained.
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