The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings for his knee disabilities and reopening of a previously denied thoracolumbar spine disorder claim have been dismissed. The TDIU claim has also been remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the right and left knee disability claims prior to the promulgation of a decision, and the new and material evidence claim was remanded due to incomplete VA treatment records and need for an addendum opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine disorder, Right knee total replacement with synovectomy, Left knee total replacement
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18113440
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 18113440.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 the initial ratings assigned for psoriatic arthritis of the upper and lower extremities, as well as service connection for a cervical spine disorder, need to be remanded due to incomplete evidence. The Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ADT) and inactive duty for training (IDT) must be confirmed, and all relevant medical records should be obtained.
- Denied
The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder is rated at 20 percent prior to September 9, 2020 and 20 percent thereafter. The rating for GERD remains at 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for thoracolumbar spine disorder, right lower extremity and left lower extremity neurological disorders, and hypertension due to potential in-service exposure. The AOJ is required to develop these issues further.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to an evaluation for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and service connection for a psychiatric disorder, which may be related to the Veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further development.
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