The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing a new VA examination to assess the severity of his knee, ankle, and low back disabilities.
The deciding factor: The case is being remanded due to missing or incomplete medical records and the need for updated examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee patellar tendonitis and osteoarthritis, right knee patellar tendonitis and osteoarthritis, left ankle Achilles tendonitis, right ankle Achilles tendonitis and osteoarthritis, thoracolumbar spine strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2017
- Citation
- 1744674
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 1744674.
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 Board has granted the Appellant's request to have his military service characterized as honorable, and has also granted service connection for various conditions including unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, scars of the left second finger and thumb, thoracolumbar spine strain, bilateral knee strains, and a right foot disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the deferred claim for entitlement to service connection for sinusitis is dismissed. The claims for right hip greater trochanteric, left shoulder impingement syndrome, and thoracolumbar spine strain are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development due to lack of substantial compliance with prior remand directives, including an additional medical opinion regarding the ameliorative effects of the Veteran's medication on his thoracolumbar spine strain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his service-connected left ankle Achilles tendonitis is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the severity of the condition, as previous examinations did not include range of motion testing.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.