The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding the Veteran's left hand disabilities. The VA needs to obtain updated treatment records and provide addendum opinions on whether these disabilities are related to service.
The deciding factor: The previous VA opinion lacked a clear medical rationale, failed to discuss whether it was due to lack of expertise or insufficient information, and improperly considered the need for current disability to be 'solely' due to service.
- Claimed conditions
- left hand gamekeeper's thumb, left hand arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20073513
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 service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right hand arthritis to obtain a new VA medical opinion addressing the Veteran's disability under a presumption of soundness.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings, finding that the evidence did not support a link between his current conditions and his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for bilateral hand, hip, knee, and lumbosacral arthritis to provide further development.
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