The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeals for additional development due to missing documents within the claims file, including additional evidentiary submissions or statements by the Veteran. The matter must be remanded in order to ensure compliance with the Board’s remand instructions.
The deciding factor: The AOJ did not substantially comply with the Board’s remand instructions and failed to locate the original claims folder using both correct and incorrect Social Security Numbers, as instructed.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left knee, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, thoracic spine disability, erectile dysfunction, headaches, claimed as cephalgia, left hand disability manifested by motor loss and decreased grip strength, right hand disability manifested by motor loss and decreased grip strength, paresthesia of the right upper extremity, paresthesia of the left upper extremity, sciatic pain of the left lower extremity, sciatic pain of the right lower extremity, acquired psychiatric disability, originally claimed as generalized anxiety
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20057568
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 20057568.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims of service connection for cervical spine and skin rash disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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