The Board has determined that the VA examinations for diplopia, right hand disability, and left hand disability are inadequate. The Veteran's claims of entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for diplopia, service connection for right hand disability (claimed as peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity), and service connection for left hand disability (claimed as peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity) are being remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations provided were inadequate to address the Veteran's claims, particularly regarding the effects of his diplopia on his ordinary activities over the course of the appeal period and whether his hand disabilities are related to service or a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- diplopia, right hand disability (claimed as peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity), left hand disability (claimed as peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2022
- Citation
- 22000086
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 22000086.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability, meeting the schedular criteria for a TDIU throughout the appeal period. However, conflicting work history makes it impossible to determine his employment status during the period on appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for diplopia was denied as the evidence did not support finding that his diplopia is constant or causes incapacitating episodes. The Board found that the Veteran's visual acuity and field loss were within normal limits, and thus, he does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under DC 6090.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to August 21, 2019, for a 20 percent disability rating for diplopia secondary to fracture of the left orbital floor.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral eye disability, specifically chorioretinal scars with diplopia, is now rated at 30 percent effective from the date of claim (July 30, 2014).
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