The veteran claims service connection for arthritis of the left knee, hands, elbows and ankles as secondary to his service-connected bursitis of the right knee. The Board finds that additional development is necessary due to incomplete medical records and requests an addendum from a VA examiner.
The deciding factor: The decision requires further examination and review of the veteran's medical history to determine if arthritis in multiple joints is related to his service-connected bursitis of the right knee.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the left knee, arthritis of the hands, arthritis of the elbows, arthritis of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2005
- Citation
- 0511215
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 0511215.
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 determined that new and relevant evidence has been presented to warrant readjudication of the claim for service connection for arthritis of the knees, elbows, and hands. The matter is being remanded for further consideration on a secondary basis due to the Veteran's assertions regarding his hips locking and falling into foxholes.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the right and left knees, finding that it is at least as likely as not that these conditions developed due to the Veteran's active military service.,No new evidence or exposure basis was provided in this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not associating the Veteran's service treatment records with the claims file, and therefore the Board is unable to decide the issues currently on appeal. The Board also finds that remand for development of a longitudinal exposure record (ILER) and a TERA opinion is necessary.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for vitiligo, bilateral hand degenerative arthritis, and bilateral distal radioulnar osteoarthritis have been granted.
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