The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability as it was not shown during service and is not due to or aggravated by the veteran's service-connected left knee disability. The claim for an increased rating for residuals of fractures to the 6th and 7th posterior ribs with hypertrophic changes at T-7, T-8 was remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the right knee condition is due to or aggravated by the service-connected left knee disability. The veteran's claim for an increased rating requires additional medical evaluation and testing to accurately assess the extent of his thoracic spine disability, including any calcification and resulting ankylosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee disability, Residuals of fractures to the 6th and 7th posterior ribs with hypertrophic changes at T-7, T-8
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2008
- Citation
- 0810785
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 service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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