The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral wrist strains and left elbow degenerative joint disease must be remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in failing to provide an adequate medical examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided inadequate nexus opinions without considering the Veteran's lay statements, the Veteran's service treatment records, and the specific events of combat course training during service.
- Claimed conditions
- left wrist strain, right wrist strain, left elbow degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2024
- Citation
- A24041430
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 A24041430.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to duty-to-assist errors and inadequate medical opinions. The issues of entitlement to TDIU are also being remanded as they are inextricably intertwined with the other claims.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings on multiple hand and wrist conditions has been dismissed as the Veteran requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and has remanded the remaining issues due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for effective dates prior to June 10, 2022, for service connection of various conditions. The appeal is also remanded for further action on some issues.
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