The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the inability to obtain his service treatment records and personnel files. The AOJ is instructed to contact relevant departments and request these records, document all efforts made, and provide the Veteran with an opportunity to submit any additional evidence.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established without obtaining the Veteran's medical and service records due to their unavailability.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disorder (anxiety), right knee condition, left knee condition, right thumb condition, neurological condition of the left lower extremity (sciatica), left foot condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2023
- Citation
- 23015840
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 23015840.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal regarding the service connection for a lumbar condition and left knee condition, resulting in the dismissal of these issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability is service-connected as it resulted from an injury sustained during active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's erectile dysfunction is granted as secondary to his service-connected neoplasm of the kidney with frequent urination.,Service connection for a left knee condition, an acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety), and a bilateral foot condition are dismissed.
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