The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her left and right knee disabilities, as well as her back disability, are being remanded to obtain additional VA examinations and to ensure that all relevant records have been obtained.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed in the form of updated VA examination reports to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Knee, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Knee, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 7, 2017
- Citation
- 1731735
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 1731735.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee instability and limitation of extension associated with degenerative joint disease are rated at 20 percent from June 14, 2010 to January 11, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased initial disability rating for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee is being remanded due to inadequate VA examination reports. The Board finds that additional evidence and a new medical opinion are needed to properly assess the severity of the Veteran's condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis is remanded due to inadequate examination report.
- Granted
The reduction of the Veteran's lumbar spine and cervical spine disability ratings from 40% to 20% was improper, and the prior ratings are restored.
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