The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional development.,Specifically, the Board is requesting that SSA provide any underlying medical records used in their March 2012 decision on the Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy claim.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that compliance with previous remand directives requires obtaining the underlying medical records from SSA.
- Claimed conditions
- left (minor) upper extremity shell fragment wound (SFW) residuals with injury to the radial, medial, and ulnar nerves, left little finger flexion deformity, and degenerative joint disease (DJD), left upper arm SFW residuals, degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left shoulder, vascular damage of the left lower extremity, residuals of a SFW to the right (major) forearm and dorsal distal radius, MGs VIII and IX, chronic left ilioinguinal neuropathy and moderate peripheral (axonal) neuropathy of the sciatic nerve associated with diabetes and radiculopathy associated with lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), musculoligamentous instability, right ankle, left upper extremity scar, right leg vein insufficiency, coronary artery disease (CAD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20060979
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 20060979.
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 Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, varicose veins, and irritable bowel syndrome are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for hypertension and coronary artery disease (CAD) as both issues were previously decided by the Board on a presumptive basis under the PACT Act, which precludes an earlier effective date.
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