The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left-hand and right-hand disorders due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider the Veteran's and his wife's testimony regarding scar tissue aggravation, nor provided a clear rationale based on supporting factual data and medical principles.
- Claimed conditions
- left-hand osteoarthritis, right-hand osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2022
- Citation
- 22030471
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 22030471.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left knee osteoarthritis, instability, and total knee replacement, left knee scar, right-hand degenerative arthritis disability, left-hand osteoarthritis disability, and lumbosacral strain with osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine. The claims for left shoulder disability, higher evaluations for hip disabilities, and TDIU are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeals for higher ratings for major depressive disorder, service connection for hearing loss, and initial compensable rating for right-hand osteoarthritis were denied. The appeal for service connection for a left hand condition was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examiner's opinions were inadequate and remanded for further clarification. The Veteran's left-hand osteoarthritis is being remanded to determine if it is related to his in-service injury while playing basketball.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives and needs further examination regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hand osteopenia, specifically whether it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
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