The Veteran's knee and hip disabilities, as well as his lower extremity sciatica, are being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for additional medical examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to determine the extent of additional range of motion loss during flare-ups without resorting to speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis and patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee, degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee, discogenic disease and osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the left hip, osteoarthritis of the right hip, left lower extremity sciatica, right lower extremity sciatica
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18114758
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 18114758.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings for lumbar spine arthritis and right lower extremity sciatica have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with left sciatica. The right lower extremity sciatica claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity sciatica, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain. The decision is based on a finding of reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hip disabilities, together with his service-connected residuals of left ankle fracture, resulted in the loss of use of his bilateral lower extremities and affected the functions of his balance and propulsion as to preclude locomotion without the aid of crutches, a walker, or a cane. The Board has granted entitlement to a certificate of eligibility for specially adapted housing (SAH).
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