The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate efforts by VA in obtaining his private medical records. The Veteran is required to provide updated, legible forms and VA must attempt to obtain all relevant treatment records.
The deciding factor: VA failed to properly follow up on previous requests for private medical records from Puerto Rico, leading to the rejection of previously submitted forms as illegible.
- Claimed conditions
- peripheral neuropathy, bilateral upper extremities, peripheral neuropathy, bilateral lower extremities, low back disability, right foot tarsal syndrome, left foot tarsal syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20079477
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 20079477.
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 found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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