The Board has found that additional development is required before the claims on appeal are decided, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's low back disability. The issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hip, knee, and ankle disabilities remain inextricably intertwined with the issue of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the current opinion is incomplete and not adequate for adjudication purposes due to the examiner's failure to consider the Veteran's report of sustaining a back injury in the February 1976 MVA, as well as their reliance on the passage of time between separation from active service and post-service diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, bilateral hip disability, bilateral knee disability, bilateral ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2017
- Citation
- 1722058
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 1722058.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities.
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