The Board has remanded the claims for right upper extremity and low back disabilities, as well as liver disability. The Veteran's original claim of service connection for eye disability was denied due to lack of a disability subject to service connection. Service connection for PTSD is denied because there is no evidence of a diagnosable PTSD during the appeal period. Liver disability claims are remanded for further examination and determination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's original claim of service connection for eye disability was not supported by new and material evidence, as the evidence did not demonstrate the presence of an eye disability subject to service connection or a disability superimposed onto his refractive error. Service connection for PTSD is denied because there is no competent evidence demonstrating the presence of PTSD during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- eye disability, PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), right upper extremity disability, low back disability, liver disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20062616
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 20062616.
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 found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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