The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis of his right hand as secondary to his crush of his right ring (4th) finger and service-connected little (5th) finger. The remand requires obtaining an addendum opinion from a clinician regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis is at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected little (5th) finger disability.
The deciding factor: The April 2013 VA examiner did not provide an aggravation opinion, and therefore a new one needs to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of right hand, crush of right ring (4th) finger
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2023
- Citation
- 23022797
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 23022797.
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 Board remands the claims for service connection of various conditions due to a pre-decisional error in not obtaining medical opinions and VA treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected amputation of the distal phalanx of the fifth digit and crush injury of the fourth digit of the left hand is found to be aggravated by his arthritis in the left hand, which is granted as secondary to this service-connected condition.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD have been granted. The claim for arthritis of the right hand is being remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for arthritis of the left and right hands, finding no evidence that these conditions began during or were related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
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