The Board remands the claim for a right hand disorder to correct a duty to assist error, as an adequate medical opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's condition was not obtained.
The deciding factor: The August 2020 examiner's opinion impermissibly relied on an absence of evidence without an adequate foundation for doing so.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand arthritis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24070129
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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