The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right upper extremity disabilities, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus, due to an inadequate VA medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions are found to be inadequate because they failed to address relevant evidence of record, including a May 1998 Line of Duty determination regarding chemical exposure during service in the Persian Gulf War and a submitted medical study supporting a link between exposure to toxins and neuropathy symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Left upper extremity disability, Right upper extremity disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2022
- Citation
- 22001611
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 remands the issues of entitlement to separate compensable ratings for bilateral lower extremity and upper extremity disabilities due to insufficient medical evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right upper extremity disability, initial compensable rating for a right hip disability based on limitation of flexion, and initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for right knee strain. The claim for an initial rating of 20 percent for a low back disability prior to August 29, 2017 was granted, but the claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for a low back disability from August 29, 2017 was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a right upper extremity disability and a rating in excess of 30 percent for GERD due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is being remanded for proper VCAA notice and a medical examination to address the veteran's claimed left upper extremity disability.
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