The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for right and left hand disorders for further development, as an additional medical opinion is needed regarding whether the preexisting conditions were aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The November 2023 VA examiner did not address whether the left wrist fracture and right hand disorder noted at the time of the Veteran's February 2017 enlistment examination may have been aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand disorder, left hand disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2024
- Citation
- 24032775
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple disorders, including left and right knee disorders, hypertension, left hand, foot, leg, and arm disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), as there was no evidence of in-service incurrence or a nexus to service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a left hand disorder was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the notice of disagreement.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for all issues, including service connection and rating claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back disorder, gout, hypertension, a left hand disorder, and type II diabetes mellitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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