The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a right hand disability, an unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder, and entitlement to TDIU due to insufficient evidence in some of the previous examinations.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on inadequate rationale provided by VA examiners regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions and their relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hand Disability, Unspecified Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064944
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,164 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20064944.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the current evidence is insufficient to establish service connection for the Veteran's claimed disabilities, and thus remands the claims for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD is granted, and he is awarded separate initial 10 percent ratings for left hand strain with painful index finger motion and long finger motion. The claims for other disabilities are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to his service-connected mental health disability, with obesity as an intermediate step. The decision is based on evidence that suggests the Veteran's OSA was caused by his service-connected mental health disability and obesity.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.