The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to the inability to provide him with VA examinations in Europe. The issues include eye disorders, chronic tiredness, ankle and elbow disorders, facial twitching, neck disorder, knee instability and pain/clicking related to his major depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's claims for service connection were remanded due to the inability to provide him with VA examinations in Europe as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Claimed conditions
- floating spots in eyes, disorder manifested by chronic tiredness (to include as secondary to service-connected sleep apnea), left ankle disorder, bilateral elbow disorder, facial twitch, neck disorder, right knee instability and pain/clicking, left knee instability and pain/clicking
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2023
- Citation
- 23023017
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 23023017.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, left ankle disorder, and skin disorder (claimed as neurodermatitis) due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran is required to undergo additional VA examinations to determine if his current conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases for new VA examinations due to inadequate opinions in the July 2020 VA examination reports. The Veteran's right shoulder disorder, left ankle disorder, and lumbar spine disorder are being reviewed again to determine if they are related to his active duty service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal before the Board could make a decision on his service connection claims.
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