The Board has remanded the claims for arthritis of the right and left wrists and hands due to a lack of an adequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the entire scope of the appellant's claim, specifically the Veteran's continued issues with his bilateral wrists and hands following service.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the right wrist, Arthritis of the left wrist, Arthritis of the left hand, to include the fingers, Arthritis of the right hand, to include the fingers
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2022
- Citation
- 22037345
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 22037345.
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 Veteran's right wrist disability, which includes numbness, swelling, locking, tremors, reduced grip strength, and stomach upset due to arthritis, has been granted an extraschedular rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for arthritis of the right wrist due to outstanding VA treatment records and the need for a retrospective medical opinion regarding functional loss during flare-ups.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his right wrist and thumb disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of more than two inches gap between the thumb pad and fingers, thus denying any higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination.
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