Your claim for service connection regarding hernia has been reopened and is being remanded to determine if your current diagnosis of inguinal hernia is related to your active duty service.,Your claims for service connection regarding low back disability, left ankle disability, and right knee disability have also been reopened and are being remanded to determine the relationship between these conditions and your active duty service.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish a current diagnosis of hernia during or after service. The VA examiner found no current diagnoses for the left knee or left ankle, despite the Veteran's reported osteoarthritis.,Your claims are being remanded to determine if your current low back disability is related to your active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hernia, Low Back Disability, Left Ankle Disability, Right Ankle Disability, Right Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2018
- Citation
- 18155470
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 18155470.
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 service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
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