The Board has dismissed the issues of increased disability ratings for lumbar spine and left ankle disabilities. The claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, and right ankle disabilities are remanded due to lack of evidence addressing their etiology.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not address whether the Veteran's claimed knee and ankle disabilities were proximately due to or aggravated by her service-connected lumbar spine and/or left ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Left ankle status post surgical reconstruction, Right knee disability, Left knee disability, Right ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19104405
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 granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a right knee disability and PTSD, remanded several claims including those for a left knee disability, right shoulder disability, hypertension, craniomandibular disorder, and a compensable rating for residuals of a right femur fracture.
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