The Board remands the claim for service connection of right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome to obtain a medical opinion that adequately addresses whether it is caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected residuals of postoperative right ring finger tendon repair.
The deciding factor: The October 2021 VA addendum medical opinions did not substantially comply with the Board's August 2021 remand directives, as they failed to address the specific theory of entitlement regarding aggravation by the Veteran's service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2022
- Citation
- 22000165
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 denied an earlier effective date for right benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, denied a higher rating for the same condition, and remanded separate ratings for carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and a compensable rating for hypothyroidism.
- Denied
The Board denied separate compensable ratings for limitation of motion of the right and left wrists, thumbs, and index fingers associated with the Veteran's service-connected CTS.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disability, bilateral knee disabilities, and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, right wrist CTS, and left wrist CTS. The back disability was rated at 10%, 20%, and 40% prior to April 13, 2017, from April 13, 2017, to December 30, 2019, and from December 31, 2019, respectively. The left lower extremity radiculopathy was rated at 40% from April 13, 2017, while the left ankle disability was rated at 20% from April 13, 2017.
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