The Board has remanded several service connection claims due to inadequate examinations and the need for additional medical opinions, including those related to valvular heart disease, keratoconjunctivitis, upper extremity radiculopathy, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, a skin condition, shin splints, knee meniscal tear, muscle/tendon strain of the lower leg, and sleep disturbances.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the examinations were inadequate due to incomplete review of medical records and provided insufficient rationale for previous diagnoses. Therefore, additional evaluations are necessary to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, keratoconjunctivitis, left eye, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral shoulder pain, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, a skin condition (claimed as tinea corporis), bilateral shin splints, left knee meniscal tear, right strained muscle and tendons, posterior muscle group of lower leg, sleep disturbances (claimed as sleep apnea)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2024
- Citation
- A24066663
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 869 · Granted: 44% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24066663.
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 determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee meniscal tear and denied his request for an increased rating for left knee laxity.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for valvular heart disease, peripheral vascular disease of the right and left legs, and hypertension were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for cardiomegaly with cardiac hypertrophy and valvular heart disease has been dismissed due to the appellant withdrawing the appeal.
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