The Veteran's claim of service connection for left and right thumb disabilities, including arthritis, is remanded due to the need for a VA examination. The appeal will be considered on the merits after the examination.
The deciding factor: A VA examination is required to determine the etiology of the Veteran's current thumb disabilities, including but not limited to arthritis, as well as their relationship to service and presumed exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- left thumb arthritis, right thumb arthritis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2022
- Citation
- 22071112
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 22071112.
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 thumb arthritis and right thumb arthritis, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee arthritis, right knee arthritis, right thumb arthritis, and unspecified penile condition are remanded due to the lack of adequate notice regarding scheduled VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several left-sided joint conditions and a right shoulder disability, while denying service connection for a skeletal system disorder other than degenerative arthritis and a right knee disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, vertigo, and various other conditions as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active duty.
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