The Board has remanded the case for further medical opinions to address whether the Veteran developed any additional disability of the right thumb as a result of VA medical treatment in November 2008 and/or the 20-month delay between the first surgery in November 2008 and the second surgery in July 2010.
The deciding factor: The opinions are not substantially compliant with the previous Board remand, requiring further clarification on whether additional disabilities developed as a result of VA medical treatment or the delay between surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- right thumb disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20062662
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 20062662.
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 determined that additional development is necessary to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remand the case for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to duty-to-assist errors and insufficient evidence regarding his Reserve service. The claims for left wrist injury, scar, psychiatric disorder, thumb disorders, TMJ, jaw infection, and dental disorder are being reviewed again.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for left shoulder, left wrist, right wrist, left thumb, and right thumb disorders due to the lack of evidence showing current disabilities. The appeal for a right eye vision disorder was dismissed as untimely.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right thumb disorder, including as secondary to the service-connected right finger disability, based on evidence showing no in-service injury or disease and no nexus between the current condition and active service.
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