The Board remands the claims for service connection for various recurrent disabilities, including degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, hands, hips, and feet, to be further developed by VA.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed as the prior VA examination did not address the relationship between the diagnosed arthritic disabilities and the Veteran's presumed herbicide agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent cervical spine disability to include degenerative arthritis, recurrent right hand disability to include degenerative arthritis, recurrent left hand disability to include degenerative arthritis, recurrent right hip disability to include osteoarthritis, recurrent left hip disability to include osteoarthritis, recurrent right foot disability to include degenerative arthritis, recurrent left foot disability to include degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2024
- Citation
- 24000445
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.
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