The Board has determined that another remand is necessary due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities, including heart disease, hypertension, prostate disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, and orthopedic disabilities.
The deciding factor: The proper standard of review for determining whether a claim for VA benefits may be granted is whether the factors are in an 'approximate balance,' such that a veteran is entitled to the benefit of the doubt when the evidence is in an approximate balance, i.e., nearly equal, and does not require the evidence to be in exact equipoise.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disease, hypertension, prostate disability, rheumatoid arthritis, headache disability, low back disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right foot disability, left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 16, 2023
- Citation
- 23009891
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 23009891.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis disability rating is being remanded for additional development due to significant weight loss and anemia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims regarding entitlement to service connection for a headache disability and entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 29, 2014, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for right tibiofibular ligament strain are being remanded due to the need for additional development.
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