The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including neck disability, bilateral shoulder and elbow disabilities, wrist disabilities, hip disabilities, carpal tunnel syndrome, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional service treatment records from October 1979 to July 2000 and request opinions on the nature and etiology of the Veteran's psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board found that obtaining additional service treatment records may be critical to adjudicating the claims, as they could provide more context for the VA examiner's negative opinions regarding the onset or causation of the disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability, bilateral shoulder disability, bilateral elbow disability, bilateral wrist disability, bilateral hip disability, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, acquired psychiatric disorder (depression and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2022
- Citation
- 22045039
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 22045039.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim for service connection of a neck disability due to pre-decisional error in not obtaining a VA examination and medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the Veteran's assertions. The VA will obtain an examination and provide an opinion on whether these disabilities are related to service.
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