The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's right ring finger disorder is caused by or resulted from his service-connected residuals of a right wrist fracture and traumatic arthritis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the service-connected disability caused a worsening of functionality, which is required for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ring finger disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23048692
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 23048692.
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 Board has granted service connection for a right ring finger disorder and remanded the issue of an initial compensable rating for a right pinky disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various right hand and finger disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal is denied as the evidence does not support higher ratings for his thoracic disability, coccydynia, right knee chondromalacia patella, right wrist CTS, left wrist CTS, and related fingers. Service connection was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining an examination to determine if the Veteran has current right ring and middle finger disorders related to his military service. The initial evaluation for bilateral hearing loss remains 10 percent.
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