The Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis in his bilateral knees is being remanded due to the need for an addendum opinion addressing whether it is at least as likely as not that the condition was caused or aggravated by his service-connected pes planus.
The deciding factor: An addendum opinion is needed to address the issue of aggravation and a recent treatment note indicating a possible connection between the Veteran's feet and knee conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of bilateral knees
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2017
- Citation
- 1712801
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 1712801.
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 there has not been substantial compliance with the April 2020 remand directives and has therefore ordered the case to be returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bone pain, including as due to bone density loss related to osteoporosis and osteopenia or related to arthritis and degenerative disc disease. The VA examiners concluded that these conditions did not clearly pre-exist service, were not incurred in service, and are not aggravated by service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee arthritis, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic condition during or within one year after service and concluding that any current arthritis is more likely due to natural aging.
- Dismissed
All issues related to service connection have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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