The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current severity of the service-connected conditions. The veteran's claims will be readjudicated based on the new evidence and regulations.
The deciding factor: The decision is being remanded due to procedural issues and the need for additional evidence and evaluation under the recently revised rating criteria for diseases and injuries of the spine.
- Claimed conditions
- ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar spine, right knee strain, abnormal bone formation of the sternum
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2004
- Citation
- 0404568
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 0404568.
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 claims for service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, shin splints of the right leg, and shin splints of the left leg are being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA examinations and medical nexus opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection of a right ankle disorder.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection for gastroenteritis, lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left ankle lateral collateral ligament strain, right knee strain and hemorrhoids. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of a lumbosacral strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of a left ankle lateral collateral ligament strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of right knee strain. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.,The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for his service connection of hemorrhoids. The earliest effective date is December 5, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and left knee strain, and remanded the right knee strain claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disorder and right knee strain are being remanded for further examination to determine if they are caused or aggravated by his service-connected internal derangement of the left knee, considering whether obesity is a substantial factor in their development.
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