The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical opinions and further development is required.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not reconcile contradictory findings in the January 2012 VA examination report, which was used as a basis for the opinion on etiology. The examiner also did not note all scars shown by the record and identify their etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand disability, burn residuals, numbness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20073261
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 20073261.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability of numbness, tingling, and pain in the left lower extremity is granted as service connected.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hand disabilities due to inadequate examination and potential toxic exposure during service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for various orthopedic disabilities, including wrist, hand, finger, knee, and lumbar spine conditions, based on a lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis for any of the claimed conditions and thus, service connection is denied.
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