The Board remands the claims for service connection for umbilical and inguinal hernia, as well as degenerative arthritis of the left and right hands, due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: Remand is required because the record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claims, and an examination is needed to determine if there is a nexus between the Veteran's claimed conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Umbilical hernia, Inguinal hernia, Degenerative arthritis of the left hand (claimed as general arthritis and joint difficulties), Degenerative arthritis of the right hand (claimed as general arthritis and joint difficulties)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25058851
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD, but denied compensable ratings for umbilical hernia, nephrolithiasis, and dermatitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a left femur fracture status post-surgery, a left wrist disability, an inguinal hernia, and a back disability for additional development of evidence.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's PTSD with depressive disorder was granted an increased rating of 70 percent, but no higher, from December 31, 2019. Other claims were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's lumbar spine and sciatic nerve disabilities, granted a 30 percent rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), and granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine.
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