The Board remands the claim for a left wrist disorder to obtain additional medical opinions regarding its nature and etiology, specifically addressing whether it is related to service or aggravated by a service-connected left shoulder disorder.
The deciding factor: The June 2023 VA opinion did not adequately address whether the Veteran's left wrist disorder was aggravated by his service-connected left shoulder disorder, as required by El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013).
- Claimed conditions
- left wrist disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24003740
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 claim for a left wrist disorder to obtain an addendum opinion, as the previous opinions were based on inaccurate factual premises.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left wrist disorder, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of his left wrist, as the evidence did not support a finding that he had no effective function in the hand other than what would be equally well served by an amputation stump at the site of election below the elbow with use of a suitable prosthetic appliance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including inadequate VA examinations and failure to obtain etiological opinions.
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