The Veteran's appeal includes issues related to neck disability, change in color in the hands, headaches, weakness in the arm and numbness in the fingers, peripheral neuropathy of the chest wall, rib fractures status-post thoracotomy, penetrating muscle injury of the left chest, surgical scar of the left chest, painful surgical scar of the left chest, hypertension, left elbow degenerative joint disease, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to May 13, 2013. The Board has remanded these issues for further development.,The Veteran's appeal also includes requests for earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for penetrating muscle injury of the left chest, surgical scar of the left chest, and painful surgical scar of the left chest.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a December 29, 2010 notice of disagreement served as an informal claim for entitlement to service connection for a penetrating muscle injury of the left chest and for surgical scars. The issues remaining on appeal are remanded due to failure to comply with prior remands.
- Claimed conditions
- penetrating muscle injury, left chest, surgical scar, left chest, painful surgical scar, left chest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2022
- Citation
- 22000082
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 22000082.
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 issues of service connection for headaches, painful surgical scar, left chest, hypertension, left elbow degenerative joint disease, and lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome due to incomplete VA treatment records.,No effective date earlier than specified dates was granted as there is no probative evidence showing the conditions had their onset during service or are otherwise related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection and effective dates for various disabilities, including neck disability, change in color in the hands, headaches, weakness in the arm and numbness in the fingers, penetrating muscle injury, left chest, painful surgical scar, left chest, surgical scar, left chest, peripheral neuropathy, chest wall, rib fractures, status-post thoracotomy, hypertension. The issues include seeking initial ratings for certain disabilities and obtaining effective dates for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.