The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if the Veteran's arthritis disabilities are proximately due or aggravated by his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and bilateral first cuneiform metatarsal joint arthritis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner must provide opinions regarding whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's arthritis of the back, knees, hands, and neck were proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder and bilateral first cuneiform metatarsal joint arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the back, arthritis of the knees, arthritis of the hands, arthritis of the neck
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20074885
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 20074885.
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 new and relevant evidence has been presented to warrant readjudication of the claim for service connection for arthritis of the knees, elbows, and hands. The matter is being remanded for further consideration on a secondary basis due to the Veteran's assertions regarding his hips locking and falling into foxholes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability is remanded due to the need for an orthopedic examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of his claimed condition. The examiner must identify each diagnosed back disability entity, its likely etiology, and whether it is at least as likely as not related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's arthritis of the back is granted service connection based on continuity of symptomatology.,Service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is granted due to its presumptive relationship as a qualifying chronic disability under Persian Gulf War criteria.,Service connection for a skin disability, manifested by rashes of the hands and feet, is granted based on continuity of symptoms since service.,Service connection for a gynecological disability, residuals of hysterectomy, is granted based on continuity of symptoms since service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not associating the Veteran's service treatment records with the claims file, and therefore the Board is unable to decide the issues currently on appeal. The Board also finds that remand for development of a longitudinal exposure record (ILER) and a TERA opinion is necessary.
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