The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a VA medical examiner to address whether the Veteran's bilateral ankle and shoulder disabilities are secondary to her service-connected bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran is also seeking clarification on the status of her claims.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an addendum opinion was needed due to the lack of consideration of the Veteran's lay statements regarding the in-service onset of her bilateral ankle and shoulder disabilities as a result of her service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the bilateral ankles, Degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1805201
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 1805201.
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 service connection for osteoarthritis in the bilateral fingers, other than right little finger and for an undiagnosed illness (claimed as fatigue). Service connection was also denied for degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders. The Veteran's claims were decided on a direct basis without any presumption or secondary relationship to service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various joint conditions, including degenerative arthritis of the back, neck, shoulders, knees, hips, ankles, and elbows/arms are granted. The specific diagnoses include PTSD, right ankle condition, degenerative arthritis of the left shoulder, bilateral knee conditions, bilateral hip conditions, bilateral ankle conditions, and a left elbow/arm condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders is found to be related to his service-connected right knee disability, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral shoulder disorder.
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