The Veteran's right and left knee DJD are currently assigned 10 percent disability ratings. The Board has remanded the claims for new VA examinations to address the current severity of his service-connected knee disabilities, including range of motion measurements in both weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing conditions. Additionally, the TDIU claim is remanded due to an error in requesting the completed Form 21-4142 from General Motors.
The deciding factor: The claims are being remanded for new VA examinations as per Correia v. McDonald (2016) and Sharp v. McDonald (2017), which require specific range of motion measurements, including passive and active motions in both weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing conditions. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to an error in the request for employment information.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Degenerative Joint Disease, Left Knee Degenerative Joint Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101251
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus and dismissed the claim for service connection for right knee degenerative joint disease. The claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disability, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, headache disability, and obstructive sleep apnea were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, and tinnitus. The claims for increased ratings for right shoulder degenerative arthritis, thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative joint disease, and right knee degenerative arthritis were denied. An effective date of April 23, 2021, was granted for the award of a 100 percent evaluation for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a VA examination to determine the impacts of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his ability to care for himself and his need for aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected right and left knee degenerative joint diseases, finding that her symptoms did not warrant higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.
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