The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to incomplete VA examination reports. The case is returned to the AOJ for further development, including obtaining additional VA examinations.
The deciding factor: Incomplete VA examination reports prevented a full assessment of the Veteran's conditions and their relationship to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the left knee with a Baker’s cyst, Left ankle strain, Carpal tunnel syndrome of the left wrist with hypogeusia of the left thumb
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18141352
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 18141352.
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 granted service connection for plantar fasciitis on the right and left foot, left and right ankle strain, left and right knee osteoarthritis, and left and right hip strain, all secondary to service-connected back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities with weight gain/obesity as an intermediate step.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, and left ankle strain but denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the service-connected injury to flexors (Group VII) of fingers/thumb, an initial compensable rating for recurrent bronchitis, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining medical opinions and readjudicating the cases.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities beginning August 14, 2018, and special monthly compensation at the statutory housebound rate beginning July 23, 2019. Other claims for increased ratings were denied.
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