The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral upper extremity disorders due to incomplete compliance with previous directives and need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a clear opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral upper extremity disorders, particularly his right hand disorder, left hand disorder, right elbow disorder, and left elbow disorder. The remand is necessary to obtain a comprehensive medical opinion addressing these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hand Disorder, Left Hand Disorder, Right Elbow Disorder, Left Elbow Disorder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 29, 2022
- Citation
- 22018492
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 22018492.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, but denied service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease, left hand disorder, right knee disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board denied entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for irritable bowel syndrome and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder, and denied service connection for various other disorders.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of VA examinations and medical evidence. The Veteran is required to be provided with VA examinations to determine the cause of his claimed conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, bilateral eye disorder, heart disorder and/or chest pain, back disorder, right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, left elbow disorder, intestinal disorder, arthritis of the hands, right hip disorder, and left hip disorder have all been denied. The Board found no current diagnosis or symptoms related to these conditions.
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