The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his left knee condition is being remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the current severity of his condition and whether he has arthritis in his left knee. The case will be returned to the Board after obtaining more contemporaneous medical evidence.
The deciding factor: More contemporary medical evidence is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's left knee patellofemoral syndrome, including whether he now has arthritis in his left knee and which symptoms are attributable to his service-connected condition versus other diagnoses.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee patellofemoral syndrome, status post-medial meniscectomy, arthritis in left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2015
- Citation
- 1534431
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 1534431.
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 increased evaluations and service connection are being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a head injury is being remanded as there was no examination provided, and the examiner did not address all elements of secondary service connection.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for back condition is being remanded as there was no examination provided, and the examiner did not address all elements of secondary service connection.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for rectal cancer is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for fracture right leg remains, to include as secondary to the service-connected left leg varicose veins, is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for varicose veins, right leg is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right hand arthritis is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for seizures is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for hemorrhoids is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis in right knee is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis in left knee is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a kidney condition is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for pes planus is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis in right hip is being remanded due to procedural issues with the examinations conducted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left lower extremity condition and arthritis. The examiner is required to provide a fully explained rationale for their opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for arthritis in the left knee, arthritis in the right knee, sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the left foot, and peripheral neuropathy of the right foot due to the appellant's withdrawal of these appeals. The appeal for an increased rating for coronary artery disease (CAD) is dismissed as it was withdrawn by the appellant.
- Granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent for the veteran's hypertension disability from February 20, 1998 to October 18, 2001. The claims for increased ratings for left knee arthritis and right knee disability were denied.
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