The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining Morning Reports from the Veteran's unit during Basic Training and seeking opinions on whether the Veteran's current joint disorders are related to his service or due to herbicide exposure. The claims of urinary incontinence, left thumb disorder, right thumb disorder, and rectal, bowel, or colon disability as due to military sexual assault have also been remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous opinions were inadequate and requested new medical opinions on whether the Veteran's current joint disorders are related to his service or due to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- joint arthralgias, degenerative arthritis, ankle spurs, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, low back disorder, hip disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2022
- Citation
- 22036787
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 22036787.
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 has remanded the claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disorder, skin disorder, tongue condition, right chest costochondritis, and right hand shaking due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right knee disability, left knee arthritis, and bilateral knee instability. The decision is based on the Veteran's competent and credible lay evidence regarding the onset of symptoms in service.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
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