The Board has determined that a VA examination is necessary to assess the current severity of the Veteran's knee disorders and to determine appropriate ratings. The claims are being remanded for this purpose.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the available evidence from the most recent VA examination in December 2012 is too old to adequately evaluate the current state of the Veteran’s knee conditions, necessitating a new examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (Knee), Chondromalacia Patella (Left Knee), Chondromalacia Patella (Right Knee)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2018
- Citation
- 18118262
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 18118262.
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 Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU prior to October 4, 2016 were denied. The Board found that the Veteran's right knee disability did not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for a right knee lateral aspect scar is granted. The Veteran's increased ratings for his left and right knee degenerative joint disease are granted, with specific conditions for each period of time.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her service-connected degenerative joint disease of the right and left knees, as well as a separate rating for left knee instability. The criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent were not met.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left knee and right ankle disabilities, as well as a separate rating for symptomatic removal of semilunar cartilage in the left knee, were all denied by the Board. The Veteran was not granted any higher disability ratings.
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