The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an addendum to the June 2011 opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's in-service left knee injuries and his death, specifically whether these disabilities caused him to develop heart problems leading to his death.
The deciding factor: The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the sedentary lifestyle resulting from the Veteran's left knee arthritis and/or left patella fracture contributed to his development of heart problems, which ultimately led to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee arthritis, left patella fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 25, 2012
- Citation
- 1218791
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 1218791.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of functional impairment. The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine if any service-connected disability results in loss of use of both lower extremities, one lower extremity and one upper extremity, or residuals affecting balance and propulsion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) is denied because he does not have a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and his disabilities do not meet the requirements of SMC under this section.
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