The Board remands the claims for service connection of left elbow, right elbow, and right thumb degenerative arthritis to obtain an addendum VA medical opinion addressing direct causation and aggravation by service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The November 2021 VA opinions are inadequate as they failed to address whether the Veteran's bilateral elbow and right thumb degenerative arthritis were aggravated beyond their natural progression by his service-connected bilateral wrist disabilities, or directly related to active-duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- left elbow degenerative arthritis, right elbow degenerative arthritis, right thumb degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25092299
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 A25092299.
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 case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the right elbow disability and a need for further examination. The Veteran's claim is related to his service-connected bilateral shoulder disabilities, but the relationship between these conditions and the right elbow disability remains unclear.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for various degenerative arthritis conditions of the Veteran's lumbar spine, hips, knees, and elbows. These conditions are presumed to have onset within one year of discharge from active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's left elbow degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral strain, and eczema are all granted as service-connected.,Service connection is also granted for right ankle degenerative joint disease with a rating of 30 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted effective October 5, 2023.,Entitlement to DEA benefits was also granted effective October 5, 2023.
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