The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right hand arthritis and compensable ratings for injuries to various fingers due to a lack of adequate statement of reasons or bases.
The deciding factor: The remand is necessary because the Board failed to address whether the Veteran raised a challenge to the June 2023 examiner's competence and whether the Veteran's statements support a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5223.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand arthritis, right index finger injury, right hand arthritis, right long finger injury, right hand arthritis, right ring finger injury, right hand arthritis, right little finger injury
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2024
- Citation
- 24032024
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 claims for service connection for left and right hand arthritis to obtain a new VA medical opinion addressing the Veteran's disability under a presumption of soundness.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings, finding that the evidence did not support a link between his current conditions and his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the status as a surviving spouse for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) purposes, denied service connection for right hand arthritis and obstructive sleep apnea, granted service connection for chronic myelocytic leukemia, and denied earlier effective dates for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss. The claims for increased ratings and other remanded issues were also addressed.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for bilateral hand, hip, knee, and lumbosacral arthritis to provide further development.
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