The Board has remanded four issues related to the Veteran's hand and wrist conditions, as well as his left shoulder and elbow disabilities. The issues include service connection for de Quervain’s tenosynovitis and flexor carpi ulnari tendinopathy of both hands and wrists, and an initial rating for acromioclavicular arthritis and lateral epicondylitis of the left elbow. Additional evidence is needed to determine if these conditions are related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional VA examinations were necessary due to lack of recent medical records and because no VA examiner has provided an opinion on whether the Veteran's reported wrist and hand pain is related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- left de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, right de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, left wrist flexor carpi ulnari tendinopathy, right wrist flexor carpi ulnari tendinopathy, left shoulder acromioclavicular arthritis, left elbow lateral epicondylitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069557
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 20069557.
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 service connection and increased rating have been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his left elbow condition and the severity of his right knee condition, taking into account the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the issues of higher initial ratings for service-connected bilateral knee disability, migraine variants, and bilateral hearing loss as well as service connection for generalized anxiety disorder. The issues of service connection for right elbow lateral epicondylitis and left elbow lateral epicondylitis are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. Service connection for depression is also remanded due to conflicting diagnoses.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left elbow lateral epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, but denied service connection for degenerative arthritis and DDD other than IVDS of the neck and low back condition.
- Granted
Service connection is granted for tinnitus, as it was incurred during service due to exposure to loud noise.,Service connection is denied for left knee patella tendon tear (status post repair), as the current condition did not have its onset during a period of honorable service and is not otherwise etiologically related to active service.
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