The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, right carpal tunnel syndrome, left carpal tunnel syndrome, and meniscal tear of the right knee are remanded due to outstanding medical records and inadequate examination reports.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not comply with the requirements in Sharp v. Shulkin (2017) and there may be relevant private treatment records that have not been obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, right carpal tunnel syndrome, left carpal tunnel syndrome, meniscal tear of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23041735
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 23041735.
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 Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to a duty to assist error, requiring new VA examinations for the appellant's left carpal tunnel syndrome and left wrist osteoarthritis.
- Denied
The Board found the evidence persuasive against finding that the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis is proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by his service-connected duodenal ulcer, pancreatitis, and cervical spondylosis with IVDS, degenerative disc disease, and stenosis. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeal as it found that the benefits originally sought have been granted in full, and thus there is no longer a specific error of fact or law to address.
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