The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including lumbar spine disability, sleep apnea, bilateral hip disorder, elbow disorder, shoulder disorder, hand disorder, and eye disorder (claimed as blindness), are remanded due to the need for additional development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that further development is needed to address the service connection claims given the complexity of the issues and the need to consider multiple joints and potential secondary relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- Post discectomy degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Bilateral eye disorder (claimed as bilateral blindness), Sleep apnea, Bilateral hip disorder, Bilateral elbow disorder, Bilateral shoulder disorder, Bilateral hand disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2021
- Citation
- 21006074
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 21006074.
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 remanded the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) due to insufficient evidence of record. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine if his conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, as it is unclear whether his condition is caused or aggravated by his service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities and obesity. The AOJ will need to provide a VA examination to clarify these issues.
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