The Board remands the claims for service connection for left arm, wrist, and elbow disabilities to ensure that VA fulfills its duty to assist in substantiating the appeal by obtaining a more comprehensive medical examination.
The deciding factor: The November 2021 VA examiner's statements concerning gouty arthritis appear to be internally inconsistent, as it is unclear whether the disability has been present at any time since July 2014. The Board finds these opinions inadequate for readjudicating the Veteran's appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- gouty arthritis affecting the shoulder joint, gouty arthritis affecting the left wrist, gouty arthritis affecting the left elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2022
- Citation
- 22001242
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (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 22001242.
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.
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- Granted
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