The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for disabilities of his upper extremities due to gaps in the evidentiary record and failure to fully cooperate with VA. The appeal will be further developed to determine if chemical exposure or repetitive trauma from chipping hammers and needle guns caused or contributed to the Veteran's current disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there are gaps in the evidence regarding the onset of the Veteran's disabilities, particularly those related to chemical exposure and repetitive motion injuries. The appeal will be remanded for further development to address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Elbow, Left Elbow, Right Shoulder, Left Shoulder, Right Hand, Left Hand
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2022
- Citation
- 22000969
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 22000969.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates in several of his claims, including those related to TBI, left shoulder, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, posttraumatic migraine headaches, and TDIU. The issues have been remanded for further examination and evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection of a right shoulder disability. Service connection is granted for OSA, left ankle, lumbar spine, and right hip disabilities. The claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and coronary artery disease are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee, back, and left elbow disabilities due to inadequate examinations. The AOJ is directed to obtain medical opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's disabilities during the relevant period on appeal.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed right knee, left knee, right hip, left hip, right shoulder, and left shoulder conditions as there is no persuasive evidence that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
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