The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various degenerative arthritic conditions of multiple joints and the lower back, as additional evidence is needed.
The deciding factor: Remand required due to outstanding VA treatment records prior to September 2010 that may be relevant to the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- left ankle degenerative arthritis, left elbow degenerative arthritis, left index finger degenerative arthritis, left little finger degenerative arthritis, left long finger degenerative arthritis, left thumb degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, left shoulder degenerative arthritis, left wrist/arm degenerative arthritis, lower back degenerative arthritis, right index finger degenerative arthritis, right little finger degenerative arthritis, right long finger degenerative arthritis, right ring finger degenerative arthritis, right thumb degenerative arthritis, right shoulder degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044500
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 772 · Granted: 31% (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 A25044500.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right knee disability, left knee arthritis, and bilateral knee instability. The decision is based on the Veteran's competent and credible lay evidence regarding the onset of symptoms in service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis is dismissed. The claims for service connection for psychiatric disability, bilateral hearing loss, and other conditions are granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis and shin splints due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination. The case is now pending with a request for a new opinion.
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